It’s not over yet
Forcillo remains free after abuse-of-power application pending sentencing hearing
Appeal process could take years as legal challenges play out,
At the first “not guilty,” the packed courtroom exhaled as one.
At the second “not guilty,” the gasp was louder.
At “guilty,” murmuring began openly through the courtroom, from plainclothes police officers to supporters of the late Sammy Yatim’s family to the media, lawyers, court staff and other observers filling every available seat.
Through it all, Const. James Forcillo remained frozen in place, his solemn face reddening slightly as he was acquitted of second-degree murder, then manslaughter, but found guilty of the attempted murder of 18-year-old Sammy Yatim. His wife moved to stand with him as soon as she was allowed.
The jury’s verdicts, delivered after 35 hours of deliberations, means that Forcillo shooting the 18-year-old Yatim three times — fatally in the heart — is not a criminal act.
Whether they found it was reasonable and necessary for a police officer to shoot Yatim in the circumstances — he held a small switchblade and Forcillo claimed he was acting aggressively — or that Forcillo acted in self-defence because Yatim was a threat to his life or the lives around him, or were left in reasonable doubt will never be known. Jury deliberations must remain secret by law.
However, they clearly found that the second volley of shots fired fiveand-a-half seconds later was neither justifiable or in self-defence. The finding of guilt suggests the jury felt Yatim was no longer a threat when Forcillo fired at him six times, striking him five times in his lower part of his paralyzed body but not causing the fatal injuries that led to his death, possibly before he was Tasered by another officer.
It also may mean the jury did not believe Forcillo mistakenly saw Yatim sit up to a 45-degree angle about to “renew his attack” due to severe stress as he claimed on the stand and in a bizarre video recreation.
Or, that even if he was genuinely mistaken, he still did not have reasonable grounds to shoot Yatim and that there were other alternatives available to him.
It remains unclear, given the jury’s acquittal on the charge of seconddegree murder, what motive, if any, they established for Forcillo firing the second round of shots.
Defence counsel for Forcillo characterized the verdicts as a “compromise” but repeatedly said this is just Phase 1. Over the two weeks in May set aside for a sentencing hearing, the defence will bring an abuse-of-process application to have the charges stayed. Following that, they will seek to prove the mandatory minimum sentence for attempted murder is unconstitutional.
Attempted murder with a firearm carries a mandatory minimum of four years, however the defence has said Forcillo would face a minimum of five years because his firearm is classified as restricted.
At the end, should Forcillo be sentenced, the appeal process could take years.
Yatim’s mother, Sahar Bahadi, sat quietly through as much of the trial as she was permitted to, and was in the front row for its end.
She told reporters she would like to be “part of the discussion to change the police training policies when dealing with people in crisis so this painful incident does not repeat again. “Sammy was a young man who had his whole future ahead of him. Be- cause of what the police did, we lost him forever. Nothing in this world will compensate me for the loss of my son, nor will anything bring him back to me, but I would like, for the sake of this great country, that the police remain a source of confidence, security and respect for all people.”
Forcillo remains out on bail due to what Toronto defence lawyer Reid Rusonik suggests was a clever move on defence lawyer Peter Brauti’s part.
Since the abuse-of-process application is being brought, the trial has not been completed. If it had and a conviction was entered, Forcillo’s bail would have been automatically revoked and he would have had to go into custody.
With the abuse-of-process application and sentencing hearing occurring in May, Forcillo will probably remain on bail until the judge’s final decision in May. If the officer is sentenced, he can then immediately apply for bail pending appeal.
During the trial, Forcillo argued his use of lethal force as a police officer arresting someone committing an illegal act was justified because he had reasonable grounds to believe his life and the lives of others were at risk.
The jury heard testimony about Yatim’s appearance and behaviour before and after he got on the westbound Dundas streetcar. Passenger Bridgette McGregor told the jury Yatim slashed his knife at her neck — although he did not injure her — and the episode sparked the panicked exodus of passengers.
“I need people to know Yatim was dangerous,” she said. “He was going to kill me.”
Witnesses described Yatim’s erratic behaviour. He exposed himself as he walked behind fleeing passengers, knife in hand.
The TTC driver testified he had a conversation with Yatim, in which the teen asked for a phone to call his father.
But the judge warned the jury that evidence from before Forcillo arrived at the scene could only be used as context for the following 50-second confrontation, not to establish Yatim’s state of mind at the time he was shot. The jury could use it to consider whether Yatim was in a state of crisis, and, as the judge added, to provide some circumstantial evidence of his facial expressions and body language that might help the jury in assessing what Forcillo said he observed Yatim doing later.
Characterizing the step Yatim took before he was shot was a key issue during the trial. Seconds before, Forcillo had issued an ultimatum to Yatim: “Come a step closer and I’ll shoot!”
The Crown repeatedly argued the step was a slow movement forward of 50 centimetres, taking Yatim back to a spot on the streetcar where he’d been standing moments before, not a lunge or charge. Prosecutor Milan Rupic told the jury, it was Yatim’s mocking attitude and failure to obey Forcillo’s commands that caused Forcillo to shoot him, even though Yatim posed no imminent threat and made no move to actually get off the streetcar.
The defence position was that Yatim got himself shot. Forcillo said the step, coupled with Yatim’s “aggressive” body language and apparent state of excited delirium, led him to believe Yatim was going to attack.
“(Yatim) was in a fight till the end,” Forcillo told the jury.
“Nothing. . . will compensate me for the loss of my son.” SAHAR BAHADI SAMMY YATIM’S MOTHER