An amateur video of police shooting a teen armed with a knife and alone on a Toronto tram has raised a storm of controversy in Canada. 18 year-old Sammy Yatin died just after midnight Saturday and the chief of police has promised an inquiry into exactly what happened.
Sammy Yatim was shot and killed by police.
© Michelle Siu/Canadian Press
Hundreds of people took to the streets of Toronto Monday to protest what they see as an excessive use of force by police. The case will be scrutinized by the Special Investigations Unit, the police watchdog for the province of Ontario.
The video, now viewed by millions, shows Yatin on board a bus, apparently alone, and several police officers outside the bus, at least one of whom is aiming a weapon at him. One eyewitness said Yatin was not moving and looked stunned.
Nine gunshots are heard within 13 seconds, followed by the sound of a stun gun.
Easy to judge, says consultant
“It’s easy to make a judgement based on the clip that we often see on these videos,” cautions David Hyde, an independent security consultant in Toronto. “But I think it’s also fair to say there’s often a broader context and a larger story.
“We don’t know what happened just before the video was shot…Also during the incident there are things that we can’t see and discern. The video tells part of the picture…it’s very important but we need to wait until all the information’s gathered to make a final determination on these cases.”
As to whether Canadians can be confident the inquiry into this particular event will be fair, Hyde says “I think we’ve seen an evolution, certainly in Canada, in terms of the oversight of the police. We do have a regulated police force here but we have had some examples, and the G20 (protest) was recent one where questions were raised about the accountability of the police…I think that the regulatory bodies and the police have learned from these incidents certainly in Canada and I believe around the world.”
a knife when shot by police. © CBC
Videos lead to better accountability
Amateur videos of police incidents are more prevalent now and Hyde thinks that increases the level of accountability and oversight over police. “Most police officers operate in this country, in Canada, by the book and by the rules but of course there are always rotten apples and we do see cases that aren’t properly addressed. And having this type of citizen journalism does bring a level of accountability in many cases.”
The unidentified officer in this case has been suspended with pay pending investigation. The head of Toronto’s police union says the shooting was “traumatic” for all involved and the suspended officer is “devastated.”
Original video from Youtube:
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