When a British Columbia man died after being Tasered during an arrest last year, the province’s civilian police watchdog launched an investigation that ultimately cleared the five Chilliwack RCMP officers involved in the death.

The officers “acted appropriately” when they used the Taser, wrote Chief Civilian Director Richard Rosenthal in his recent report. Their force was not excessive and no officer should be charged in relation to the death, he wrote.

Then Rosenthal backed that decision up — in a detailed, 12-page public report posted on the watchdog’s website, a document that is “virtually identical” to the report sent to B.C.’s Ministry of Justice, according to the watchdog’s spokesperson, Marten Youssef.

That report includes: a timeline of 911 and dispatch calls and a description of their content; a breakdown of the evidence provided by two witness officers and five civilian witnesses; a summary of an analysis of the conducted-energy weapon and of the autopsy report; an explanation of the legal issues, including whether the officers used excessive force that resulted in his death; and the director’s analysis of the evidence.

In cases where B.C.’s Independent Investigations Office clears an officer, the agency releases a decision that is as detailed as possible, because in cases with no charges, “there better be an explanation, and a comprehensive one,” Youssef said.

He acknowledges that few people will actually read them from start to end, “but it needs to be there.”

“It’s a question of transparency,” he said.

Ontario — once a leader in civilian oversight after establishing Canada’s first provincial police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit, in 1990 — is now lagging behind other provinces when it comes to the transparency measures of its independent police oversight agencies.

“(These agencies) are showing the transparency and accountability that we deserve, even though they joined the race later in the game,” said La Tanya Grant, whose cousin, Jermaine Carby, was shot dead by Peel Regional Police in 2014.

“That raises eyebrows for me. To know (these agencies) started after us, and for their communities to know what is going on, while in Ontario we don’t, we need to find out why.”

Both the SIU and the province’s attorney general, Madeleine Meilleur, say all SIU director’s reports are confidential documents, citing privacy legislation. Ontario’s privacy commissioner, however, says there are situations where information in the reports could be released if it is in the public interest.

Ontario’s watchdog and the attorney general have been called upon to release the SIU director’s report into the shooting death of Andrew Loku, shot dead by Toronto police in July 2015. Last month, the SIU cleared the unnamed officer who killed Loku, prompting weeks of heated protest by Black Lives Matter Toronto.

Protesters have raised questions about how the SIU investigation came to the conclusion Loku had to be shot. The sole known civilian witness to the shooting says Loku’s hammer was not raised threateningly when police arrived on scene.

On Monday, Meilleur revealed that she had not yet read the SIU director’s report, despite being its sole recipient. On Tuesday, she said she had been briefed on the report previously but now had read it.

Independent civilian police oversight agencies exist in most, but not all, provinces. While no civilian police agency releases the names of officers or civilians, three provincial watchdogs post either the identical or a slightly changed version of the director’s report detailing a decision — their version of the document being kept secret in Ontario.

When no charges are laid, watchdogs in Nova Scotia and Manitoba publicly release the same document that is sent to their justice ministries. Investigations into Prince Edward Island police officers are also overseen by Nova Scotia’s Serious Incident Response Team.

The regulations governing SIRT specifically state that “the summary to be made available to the public must be the same as the summary provided to the Minister and the agency, and must be made available to the public no later than two days after.”

Family members of people killed by police in Ontario say they want the reports to be made public, believing they hold important answers to how and why their loved ones died.

They acknowledge that the documents could contain sensitive personal information about the person killed, but Grant, Carby’s cousin, said “we can’t pick and choose,” saying she opts for full disclosure.

So does Joanne MacIsaac, whose brother Michael was shot dead by Durham Regional Police in 2013. She said her family has requested the SIU director’s report from the Attorney General’s office and the SIU, but never got a response.

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“We have a right not only to know what happened, but a right to be able to review their findings and analyze them for ourselves,” she said.

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HOW OTHER PROVINCES DO IT

British Columbia: The Independent Investigations Office publicly releases a detailed report at the end of an investigation that is “virtually identical” to the one sent to the Ministry of Justice. Names are not included in the public report.

Alberta: Final investigative reports of the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) are not made public, because they contain a lot of personal information, said executive director Susan Hughson. “As such, we try to strike a balance and share as much information as possible” in news releases, she said.

Saskatchewan: An outside police force will often be brought in to investigate an officer-involved shooting, said Jordan Jackle, spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice. He said the deputy minister will appoint an independent investigations observer — often a retired police officer — to oversee the probe and submit a confidential report to the deputy minister.

Manitoba: The Independent Investigation Unit posts the director’s complete report online when no charges are laid against an officer. The reports do not name anyone involved. The reports do not go to the Minister of Justice before being posted.

Ontario: The Special Investigations Unit does not release its reports — it is only required by legislation to submit them to the Attorney General, who has decided to keep them secret.

Quebec: The Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (Bureau of independent investigations) is set to begin operations in June. Prior to that, a different police force would be brought in to investigate a police service in Quebec. A spokeswoman for the bureau said the reports will not be made public, but will be sent to the province’s chief prosecutor to decide whether criminal charges should be laid. If a decision is made not to charge, she said, the prosecutor’s office would release a news release to explain why.

New Brunswick: Investigations are carried out by a police agency from another area of the province than where the incident occurred. A justice department spokeswoman did not respond to a question about whether the findings are made public.

Nova Scotia: In cases where a charge is not laid, the province’s regulations require that the public receives the same report as that given to the Ministry of Justice. Neither contains the names of victims, witnesses or officers. In cases where a charge is laid, the report is very brief and does not get into the facts while the matter is before the courts. But the watchdog can release another report after a prosecution is over.

Prince Edward Island: Investigations into police officers are immediately referred to the Serious Incident Response Team in Nova Scotia, said a spokeswoman with the department of justice and public safety. SIRT makes its reports public.

Newfoundland and Labrador: The province has no separate agency to handle such investigations, but is in the process of developing one. The most recent fatal police shooting by a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer, in 2015, was investigated by the RCMP and then reviewed by ASIRT in Alberta. When ASIRT reviews the findings from another agency, it leaves the decision to publicly disclose the results up to that police force.

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