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Will we get the truth? This time, there’s video.

The latest video footage of Sammy Yatim’s death, from a security camera near where he was gunned down by police two Saturdays ago, is not something that can be easily forgotten. The public outcry that followed its revelation made that clear. Even Sun columnists who are otherwise supportive of police are calling for charges.

But what if there had been no video? Would Yatim’s death have evaporated from the public consciousness, lost in a fuselage of he-said, she-said? It still may be.

Most of the officers who showed up as the drama was unfolding seemed confused, unsure what to do. A few crowded around the front door of the streetcar where James Forcillo stood pointing his gun. Others turned here and there looking for something useful to do, the tone having been set by the lone officer with his gun drawn. No one seemed to be calling the shots, as it were.

The side doors of the streetcar were open, a yawning opportunity for someone to enter and from a safe distance try to talk Yatim down. Perhaps they felt that was too dangerous an option, which could have left the young man feeling cornered. Difficult to know for sure. Tragically, and a symptom of a stunning deficit of skill, no thought seemed to have been given to waiting the situation out.

If police protocols were being followed, it’s not evident from the video. There was no perimeter set up, at least not right away, to contain the scene or prevent members of the public from wandering into harm’s way. One cyclist rode by within a few feet seconds before Forcillo let loose.

But if the events that led to Yatim’s death didn’t follow the script in the police handbook on how to defuse a volatile situation, the events that have transpired in its wake have followed an all too familiar trajectory.

The battle for public opinion has been engaged. Forcillo’s lawyer, Peter Brauti, the police union’s hired gun, is calling for a coroner’s inquest. That would certainly answer a few questions, but it would also preclude the laying of criminal charges against Forcillo.

Would the public be better served by an inquest? Not likely given the raft of inquests that have apparently solved nothing about how police are supposed to handle situations involving people in crisis.

Society is forgiving when it comes to the actions of those entrusted to protect us. There’s a lot of legal wriggle room afforded cops involved in shooting incidents. Officers who fear for their lives or those of members of the public are deemed within their rights to shoot to kill. It’s usually enough for the courts if the officer honestly believed there was a threat to his life. Whether Forcillo can reasonably make that argument remains to be seen.

Police Chief Bill Blair took the unusual step of holding a press conference to say a whole lot without saying much of anything. The chief wanted to reassure the public that his officers would “cooperate fully” with the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), the arm’s-length agency charged with investigating serious incidents involving police.

Interesting choice of words. They’re the same ones used in the Police Services Act under the section setting out an officer’s duty when it comes to SIU probes. Unfortunately, the chief does not have a commendable record when it comes to the SIU: see Blair’s cover-up of transgressions by his charges during the G20.

But there have been other issues, including conflicts with SIU director Ian Scott over police note-taking. Officers who become the subject of an SIU probe can’t be compelled to talk to the SIU. They’re also not required to turn over their notes. Witness officers, on the other hand, must submit to an SIU interview, but they often obtain legal advice from union lawyers on what to put in their notes. (Up until August 2011, in fact, subject and witness officers could be represented by the same lawyer.)

Barely hours after his death, other details about Yatim’s life began to trickle out: a screen grab of rifles on his Facebook page, reports he was on the outs with his father and maybe smoked too much weed, a Globe story describing his supposed “fascination” with knives. The words “suicide by cop” have been floated.

All of it has had the effect of aiming the spotlight away from the fact that, from what we know so far, a Toronto police officer acted unprofessionally to a horrifying extent. Yatim’s death may not be so easily consigned to oblivion. We have video. Absent that record, this would be a very different story.

enzom@nowtoronto.com | @enzodimatteo

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