Forcillo’s life takes another wrong turn
Officer who shot Yatim breaks bail condition
It’s an alleged breach of his bail conditions, but paperwork filed earlier on his behalf in the Ontario Court of Appeal offers an inadvertent glimpse into James Forcillo’s shattered life.
Forcillo’s lawyers filed various documents at the court in anticipation of a bail variance application, slated to be heard at 10 a. m. Thursday but now cancelled.
Instead, the 33- year- old constable turned himself in to Toronto Police Wednesday after officers from the Special Investigations Unit, doing due diligence and checking the proposed new address in the court documents was legitimate, knocked on the door of a North York apartment on Tuesday night.
Forcillo answered the knock.
He wasn’t supposed to be at that address or any address other than the Vaughan, Ont., home he shared with his former wife and surety Irina Ratushnyak, unless and until he had the formal OK from the appeal court to change addresses.
He was — potentially, at least — just two days away from being there with the blessing of the court.
Forcillo, of course, is the officer convicted of attempting to murder Sammy Yatim, the teenager he fatally shot on a Toronto streetcar more than four years ago.
It was a bizarre ruling, because the same jury that convicted him of attempted murder acquitted him of murder, though the 18- year- old Yatim is decidedly dead.
The day after Forcillo was sentenced to six years in jail for the attempted murder and after one night in jail, he was released on bail pending his appeal — one part of which was heard last month; the second part, a so- called “fresh evidence” application, is expected to be argued in the spring of 2018.
But in the affidavits filed in the appeal court for his bail variance is evidence of the enormous impact the process has had on Forcillo, his former wife, Irina, and her parents.
The court proceedings, which attracted enormous publicity, took a huge toll on the couple’s marriage.
Irina Ratushnyak’s parents, Alex and Elena, have pledged $ 500,000 each as his sureties, with Irina pledging $ 10,000.
The conditions of Forcillo’s bail amounted to onerous house arrest: He was to remain in the couple’s marital home except for medical emergencies and meetings with his lawyers, and to be always in the company of one of his sureties even to run personal errands on Saturday mornings or to take his children to school.
That was fine when the couple were still a couple, but they separated early this year and were formally divorced in July.
But the conditions of his bail meant the two still had to live in the same house, though both have begun new relationships with other people.
As Irina Ratushnyak said in her Oct. 22 affidavit in support of Forcillo’s bail variance, “While we maintain a positive relationship and work together to parent our children, residing together, as required by his release conditions, has been difficult, as neither of us have been able to move on with our lives.”
She has met Forcillo’s fiancée, Irina said in her affidavit, and anticipated no difficulty “about my ability to monitor him even if we are no longer residing together.”
Her parents, extremely devoted to their grandchildren, also said they supported the change in bail conditions.
“Despite their divorce,” Elena Ratushnyak said in her Oct. 24 affidavit, “I have observed that they remain committed to parenting their children together.
“However, the requirement that they reside together has not been easy as it has made it very difficult for them to move on with their lives.”
Forcillo’s fiancé is a woman he met 15 years ago when they were both attending East Los Angeles College; Forcillo had moved there to nurse his ailing mother, who had gone to join his father.
The two re- established contact after Forcillo and Ratushnyak separated, began a long- distance relationship, and became engaged after Forcillo was divorced.
The woman ( Postmedia is not identifying her) moved to Toronto last month, and while she is willing to be a surety, as a non- permanent resident without roots in the community and with no work permit, she would be a potentially problematic one.
She rented the apartment in North York, close to Forcillo’s ex- wife’s home and to his children. Apparently, in anticipation of a positive result from the appeal court, Forcillo moved some of his belongings into the apartment.
The situation had become untenable for everyone concerned: If Forcillo wanted to see his fiancée, it had to be in his ex- wife’s company; if she wanted to see her new boyfriend, her ex would be there.
That’s when he begged his lawyers to apply for a bail variance — and until this week, he had the support of all involved.
Forcillo hasn’t been getting paid since he was sentenced.
As he said in his Nov. 6 affidavit, “I am currently being supported by friends, who together contribute enough for me to live on.”
He is, though, a product of an unstable, low- income upbringing, and a loner by inclination. One of the things that drew him to policing, he said at his trial, was an officer’s regular paycheque.
Now, it’s possible that with this alleged breach of his bail, he’s at the end of a road: His sureties could withdraw their support, and Forcillo has no one else.
The matter is due to be spoken to in court on Friday.