This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
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The video showing Toronto police officers shooting a knife-wielding man dead in an empty city streetcar has spread excessively over the internet and resulted in an increasing number of unanswered questions regarding the protocol and behavior of police. The case has reached a dramatic stage as the Ontario coroner’s office conducts an investigation into the extent of involvement of police officers in the deaths of three mentally ill people killed by Toronto police between 2010 and 2012.
The latest incident took place on early Saturday, when witnesses claim that the suspect, Sammy Yatim, exposed himself holding a knife and commanded all passengers and the driver to vacate the streetcar while it approached Dundas Street West and Bellwoods Avenue. Consequently, the video shows 18-year-old Yatim standing in the aisle near the front of the streetcar, when its door opens and almost five police officers take position while repeatedly ordering him to “drop the knife.” However, upon disobeying the orders, Mr. Yatim walks to the door, in result of which nine gunshots are heard while he crumples out of view. The case is under review by the Special Investigations Unit.
An associate professor of criminology at the University of Toronto, Matthew Light, explains that standard police protocol implies that police can only shoot when life or limb is on the line. He elucidated that “one thing that’s universal to all [police] departments across Canada is you can only shoot to kill to protect life, not to prevent damage to property or prevent someone from fleeing.”
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