Questions are "tormenting" those who knew a 36-year-old Hamilton man fatally shot by police on a busy downtown street.

Anthony "Tony" Divers died just before midnight Friday on James Street South after being sought in connection with an alleged assault on a bar security guard shortly before the shooting.

Divers' family says they will speak publicly once they know more about what happened.

A friend who identified himself as Daniel questioned whether lethal force was necessary and why a Taser wasn't used.

"These questions are keeping me awake and tormenting me since this happened."

The SIU has so far released few details of the shooting, saying in a statement, "The man was walking in the middle of James Street near the GO station. There was an interaction and the officer discharged his firearm."

SIU spokesperson Jason Gennaro will not confirm Divers was the person shot because he says the family didn't consent.

There were reports the person who committed the assault had a gun, said the arm's-length agency that investigates reports involving police when there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault. But Gennaro will not say where those reports came from.

He also won't reveal if the man had any weapons when he was shot by a police officer who recognized him as the person allegedly involved in the assault.

A surveillance video obtained by The Spectator shows a man with an item in his hand hit a woman security guard in the face on a Catharine Street North sidewalk. It's not possible to make out what he's holding.

Anthony Divers is seen moments before a violent confrontation with a security guard James Street between Bold Street and Hunter Street West, just south of the underpass, was busy with both pedestrians and traffic when "more than one shot was fired by the police officer." But Gennaro won't say how many shots.

"The SIU understands that there were many people in the area," said Gennaro. "Specifically, we know there were persons on a transit bus stopped on James Street and others walking on the east side of James Street. The unit is appealing to these persons and asking them to contact us."

Witness Khalid Yousaf told The Spectator the man was shot twice: "Then he fell down."

Yousaf, a Blue Line cab driver, was pulling out of Augusta Street onto James Street South when he spotted the man on the west sidewalk. He thought he'd try picking up a customer, but then the police officer showed up and Yousaf realized something was wrong.

The officer told the man to stop walking away. "He never stopped. He walked the opposite way," Yousaf said.

The officer followed and kept telling the man to stop, he added. Then the man turned to face the officer and stretched out his arms at his side and palms facing the officer, Yousaf said.

"Then, he fired."

Yousaf couldn't speculate as to why the officer shot the man.

Patrons of James Street bars near Augusta rushed outside after hearing shots ring out.

"All we heard was a crack and then someone yelled, 'A police officer just shot a person,'" said Jeff Hart, who was in Uno Mas, at 150 James St. S.

Witnesses, who didn't see the shooting but took in the ensuing commotion, describe officers running to the scene.

"There was an echo. You couldn't miss it," said Dale Graham, who was at the YMCA.

Graham left his third-floor room and went to see what had happened.

"I could see a guy on the ground."

Heavily armed officers arrived on scene, Graham said. Police, then paramedics, attended to the man.

Paramedic supervisor Craig McCleary said EMS transported him to St. Joseph's hospital where he died.

Others say police who were providing security for a crew shooting a television show nearby rushed to the scene after hearing the shots.

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"They were running down James," said Jennifer Hart, who was with her husband, Jeff, in Uno Mas.

"It's just weird for Hamilton," Jeff added.

Just before the shooting, police were called to an assault at the corner of King William Street and Catharine Street North.

Security camera footage from the Film Work Lofts at 80 King William St., which was also provided to police, shows a man walking around the building and at times leaning against it. A woman security guard approaches him and the two have what appears to be a heated discussion. It ends with the man hitting the woman once and walking away.

The time stamp on the video is 11:33 p.m. and it lists the view as Catharine Street.

The manager of Club Seventy-Seven, Dirty Dog Saloon and The Underground says the woman works for them. He says she has not returned to work since Friday.

The SIU says the person involved in the assault did not receive medical attention.

Divers was "a very loving and caring brother and friend and there's nothing he wouldn't do to help those he cared about," said Daniel. "He is going to be sadly and deeply missed by many whose lives he brightened and affected. I'm personally so deeply heartbroken and lost over this. He was always there for me and carried me through some of my hardest times. Times I'd not have made it through without his love, support, and guidance."

Divers' Facebook page lists his college as the "School of Hard Knocks" and says he's a personal trainer.

Yellow police tape created a perimeter around the scene Saturday — from just south of Bold Street to Hunter Street and from James to John streets.

Behind the tape, a cruiser was parked in front of an out-of-service city bus.

A backpack and other discarded items could be seen on the street just outside the James South driveway to the Hunter Street GO station.

A small orange cone was placed on the street near the Chateau Royale condo building, to mark where blood still dotted the road Saturday afternoon.

The SIU has assigned seven investigators and three forensic investigators to the case. They have designated one subject officer and eight witness officers.

Both the SIU and Hamilton Police were on scene Saturday.

Hamilton officers looked under garbage cans and in bushes along James South, and an officer directed a search dog to leap up and sniff more than a dozen planter boxes in front the Chateau Royale. Police would not say what they were looking for.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the SIU lead investigator at 1-800-787-8529 ext. 2038.