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Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders is photographed in Toronto on Tuesday.Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe and Mail

Toronto's police chief is firing back against accusations that one of his officers interfered with evidence in a high-profile police shooting.

Civilian investigators misinterpreted the law when they slammed the officer for trying to download video surveillance after the death of Andrew Loku last July, Chief Mark Saunders said. But the complaint was just one more sign of frustration from those tasked with civilian oversight, the chief said, and he agrees that the system needs review.

The grievance in the Loku case is one of at least dozens made in secret reports from the Special Investigations Unit, the civilian agency that investigates deaths, serious injuries and sexual assaults involving police in Ontario.

The Loku report was also meant to be confidential, released only to the province's Attorney-General and to Chief Saunders. But it was made partly public on Friday after a rare provincial decision to bow to pressure from Black Lives Matter activists.

An upcoming provincial review of the SIU process – another unexpected move inspired by Mr. Loku's death – could help clarify the rules for all those involved, Chief Saunders suggested.

"I believe the SIU director is using this opportunity to highlight his desire for a strong review of the regulations that govern his agency," he said in a news release. "This is a review the [Toronto police] strongly supports."

What happened after Mr. Loku's death highlights how confusing the authority structure can be after officer shootings – from securing the scene to reporting back months later.

Both sides agree that after Mr. Loku, 45, was shot in an assisted-living apartment building in northwest Toronto, a responding officer attempted to do something to video cameras in the hallway. At issue are an obscure two sentences in the Police Services Act.

After a serious police incident such as a shooting, the act says officers must secure the scene according to their policies and "usual practice" for serious incidents, "pending the SIU taking charge of the scene." According to Toronto Police Services policy, spokesman Mark Pugash said, "the officers' job is to protect the scene, and that includes the evidence."

Officers were fulfilling their legal responsibility, Chief Saunders said.

Meanwhile, the law also directs the SIU to "be the lead investigator … and [to] have priority over any police force in the investigation." In his March 15 report on Mr. Loku's death, SIU director Tony Loparco wrote that an officer "saw fit to attempt to review and download the video recordings captured by cameras situated on the … hallway where the shooting occurred."

There was no "adequate explanation" provided and no ongoing threat to public safety, he wrote. "I suggest that the ministry strongly consider amendments to the regulations governing SIU investigations to more clearly address and rectify what is clearly a recurring problem."

The SIU ultimately found that the video footage hadn't been tampered with, after consulting two experts. It also cleared the officer who shot Mr. Loku, who was holding a hammer at the time. Mr. Pugash said that no officer had tried to view the video and "there wasn't even any attempt at downloading."

He and Chief Saunders also said SIU staff present at the time never questioned the officer's actions. A spokesman from the SIU didn't respond to a request for comment.

But another past frustration for the SIU is that it is not entitled to explanations of officers' actions. In 2012 alone, the SIU's then-director sent 19 letters of complaint to then-chief Bill Blair about officer conduct during civilian investigations, according to a provincial ombudsman's report. Mr. Blair never responded to the SIU, but he wasn't obligated to. Chiefs must only report to their own civilian boards after investigating such complaints.

At the same time, Toronto's police board rarely heard such reports in 2012, when those 19 letters of complaint were written, said former chair Alok Mukherjee.

"The time has come" for the upcoming provincial review of police oversight, to be led by Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Michael Tulloch, said Christine Burke, a spokeswoman for the Attorney-General's office.

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