Police-Encounters-With-People-In-Crisis

36. The Use of Force Procedure authorizes an officer to use deadly force—force
intended or likely to cause death or grievous bodily harm—against a fleeing suspect if
the officer reasonably believes that the “person to be arrested takes flight to avoid arrest;
the force is necessary for the purpose of protecting the peace officer, the person lawfully
assisting the peace officer or any other person from imminent or future death or
grievous bodily harm; [and] the flight cannot be prevented by reasonable means in a less
violent manner.” 37 Police are not permitted to fire warning shots or to shoot at motor
vehicles unless the occupants pose an immediate threat of death or grievous bodily
harm to another person by means other than the vehicle itself. Further, the Procedure
requires officers to avoid confrontation, contain the scene and disengage when tactically
appropriate.
37. After discharging a firearm, an officer is required to notify his or her supervisor,
who must complete a Firearm Discharge Report. The officer-in-charge and the duty
inspector must also be alerted in accordance with the TPS chain of command. A Firearm
Discharge Investigator from the Professional Standards unit of the Service is then
appointed to investigate the incident. 38
38. Use of Force Reports must be filed following an incident in which an officer
employs a force option, including the display of a CEW 39 or handgun, or the use of
physical force that requires medical attention. The reports are reviewed by supervisors
to identify training needs and are submitted to the trainers at the Toronto Police College
with requests for additional training, as needed. Consistent with the Ontario standard,
the TPS Procedure is clear that Use of Force Reports may not be recorded in an officer’s
personnel file or considered during promotional or job assignment reviews.
2. The Police Challenge
39. The Police Challenge is a prescribed instruction or warning to be employed with
the aim of getting a person to comply with the police. Although the Challenge may take
several forms depending on the police service and the behaviour the officer encounters,
TPS officers are trained to say “Police—Don’t Move” clearly and loudly when
encountering a person with a weapon and before or simultaneously with drawing their
own firearm. The rationale for the Police Challenge relates both to the officer and the
subject.
40. With respect to the former, when an officer is in a high-stress situation such as an
encounter with a person with a weapon, his or her fine motor skills are diminished.
Short, practised commands are easier to remember and articulate when an officer is
combatting his or her own fear response while assessing the subject and the situation
and reacting to the circumstances, which could include drawing a weapon.
37
Id., 4-5.
38
See also Toronto Police Service, Use of Force and Equipment, 15-04 “Service Firearms” (Toronto, ON: Toronto Police Service,
2013) (which sets out the restrictions on drawing and discharging firearms on duty, and reporting and supervisory obligations
when a firearm is discharged).
39
See also Toronto Police Service, Use of Force and Equipment, 15-09 “Conducted Energy Weapons” (Toronto, ON: Toronto Police
Service, 2012) and Chapter 12 (Equipment) for further information on the restrictions and reporting requirements concerning
CEWs.
Police Encounters With People in Crisis |203