Advocates for police reform are warning that a shooting in Scarborough last week bears troubling similarities to the kind of violent encounters with mentally distressed people that the force has vowed to stamp out.

Last Thursday, police were dispatched to a Walmart at Kennedy and Sheppard after receiving a call that there was a man outside the back of the store armed with a knife. A witness who made the call told police the man was cutting his own arms and throat.

Officers arrived on the scene and according to the Special Investigations Unit, which investigates incidents of serious injury and alleged sexual assault involving the police, “there was an interaction between the police and the man resulting in the man being shot.” The 40-year-old was taken to hospital in critical but stable condition, but has since been upgraded to stable. Authorities have not released his name because his family hasn’t given their consent, but Walmart has confirmed he is an employee.

The incident comes five months after the release of a much-hyped report about ending police shootings of people in mental crisis. Prompted by outrage over the killing of Sammy Yatim on a Toronto streetcar in July 2013, the report was written by former Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci and made 84 recommendations, including better de-escalation training for officers and expanded use of the force’s mobile crisis intervention teams.

Some of Iacobucci’s recommendations were similar to those made in February by a coroner’s inquest into the deaths of three other people killed by Toronto police. Like Yatim and the Scarborough shooting victim, all three were holding knives or blades and appeared to be in distress shortly before they were shot.

Lawyer Peter Rosenthal represented the family of shooting victim Michael Eligon at the inquest. Just three days before the Walmart incident, he made a deputation to the Police Services Board in which he urged them to act quickly on the findings of the inquest and the Iacobucci report in order to prevent further deaths.

“I’ve been concerned that the police have not quickly enough and strongly enough implemented the recommendations,” Rosenthal says in an interview. Although he admits that without knowing details of the latest shooting it’s impossible to say whether it could have been prevented, “on the surface, it seems very strange that you shoot somebody to stop them from hurting himself.”

Many of the dozens of recommendations from the inquest and the Iacobucci report would take time to put in place, but Rosenthal says at least two could be implemented immediately. He argues that when officers encounter a distressed person with a knife, they should be trained to verbally offer “help and understanding,” and they should be directed to “continue de-escalation attempts” as long as possible before firing their weapons.

“We see things like the video of Sammy Yatim and Michael Eligon, they [the police] are all shouting at the victim, and nobody tries any soft communication,” Rosenthal says.

At the board meeting last week Chief Bill Blair said he has issued what is known as a “routine order” to officers stressing the need to use de-escalation techniques, but Rosenthal is worried that’s not as strong a measure as enshrining the message in written policy.

But Blair’s spokesperson, Mark Pugash, says that de-escalation is already “at the heart of our training” and the routine order was issued merely to re-emphasize that fact.

Pugash says the chief has been “absolutely unequivocal” about his commitment to carrying out Iacobucci’s recommendations. At a July press conference to unveil the report, Blair declared, “This is not a report that will gather dust, this is a report that will gather momentum.”

The chief has appointed Deputy Chief Mike Federico to head up a review of both the inquest and Iacobucci recommendations, in cooperation with a team of stakeholders that includes mental health professionals. Federico will report back to the police board in March.

“This is a very high priority for us,” Pugash says.

According to SIU spokesperson Jasbir Brar, the agency has identified two “subject officers” in Thursday’s shooting, and six witness officers. She said the witness officers have spoken to the SIU and are required to submit their notes on the incident. The unit has asked the two subject officers for an interview, but Brar said their responses are still “pending.”

bens@nowtoronto.com | @BenSpurr