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Responding to growing fury over the incident, Police Chief Bill Blair promised he would try to answer a number of questions — chief among them, could anything have been done to avert the death.

He called an investigation, required by law, to run concurrently to one conducted by the independent Special Investigations Unit, which will examine the force’s policies and procedures and determine if they were followed.

In Ontario, police actions are guided by a “use of force model.”

You go there when there is nothing else to be done

“Police can use force in a number of circumstances to ensure public safety or to secure an uncooperative suspect or offender but the level of violence depends on the type of case you’re dealing with,” said Scot Wortley, a criminologist at the University of Toronto who has written on the use of force by police in Ontario.

Officers must experience “reasonable fear” their life, the life of their fellow officers or members of the public are in danger before firing their guns.

“[W]hat often becomes debatable is what is reasonable,” Prof. Wortley said.

“People should resort to extreme force after all other avenues have been exhausted,” said Mr. Mukherjee. He noted officers are trained to constantly reassess the situation when responding to an incident.

“That’s why it’s called ultimate force. You go there when there is nothing else to be done,” he said.

Prof. Wortley said officers in Ontario are well trained and Canada has a “very very low rate” of lethal police force.

In the Yatim case, the question of whether police could have backed off will be front and centre, he added. Witnesses said Mr. Yatim exposed himself and brandished a knife on a Dundas streetcar early Saturday, then ordered everyone off.

On the video, police are heard repeatedly telling the man to drop the knife while he is standing alone on the streetcar.

“I don’t know what the guy was saying, what sudden movements he may have made, why they felt compelled to shoot,” said Prof. Wortley.

“The one thing the lay public will note is [Mr. Yatim apparently] didn’t have a gun.”

He said in other jurisdictions, critics have complained about a police culture that promotes a “stand your ground” mentality.

Mr. McCormack said there is no such culture among Toronto police.

“We’re taught to use as little force as necessary to affect the purpose of what we’re doing,” he said.