Family relieved by murder charge
Relatives of teen slain by police hope for systemic change to ensure ‘Sammy’s blood wasn’t wasted’
Following weeks of public outrage over the shooting of Sammy Yatim, the news of murder charges has brought relief to his family and others who have had relatives shot by police.
But the Yatim family wants answers that run deeper than an individual police officer’s actions.
“We want to work now to ensure that Sammy’s blood wasn’t wasted and to prevent any other families from enduring such a tragedy,” read a statement from the family.
The Special Investigations Unit announced Monday that Const. James Forcillo will face a charge of second-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of 18-year-old Yatim. Forcillo is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.
The family hopes the SIU doesn’t end its work there.
“Our family hopes that the SIU investigation will continue looking into the actions of the supervising police officer(s) and the other officers in attendance for their lack of intervention in this tragedy. Over 20 uniformed police officers were present, and no one stepped forward to stop the gun shots or offer any mediation,” said the statement.
The killing sparked two massive protests and a growing memorial site at the corner of Bellwoods Ave. and Dundas St., near where Yatim was shot on July 27. Yatim was alone on a streetcar wielding a knife when officers surrounded the vehicle.
For Karyn Greenwood-Graham, whose son, Trevor Graham, was shot by police in 2007, the charge is a step in the right direction.
“It’s a ‘wait-and-see’ game for me. It’s great that this has happened — fantastic,” she said. “(But) I’m really skeptical as to what’s going to happen.”
Greenwood-Graham said she and other relatives of people shot by police would like to speak with André Marin, the province’s ombudsman. Marin opened an investigation earlier this month into the direction given to police with respect to use of force in situations like Yatim’s.
“As a group of affected people we’d like to have a meeting with him to discuss the things that we feel would be positive solutions to these tragedies that are ongoing,” she said.
Selwyn Pieters, a Toronto attorney, has been on both sides of police shootings, having worked both for families of victims and of police.
“For the Yatim family, the struggle is really beginning now. It’s going to be quite a battle,” he said. “Criminal trials are not really a tea party. The Toronto Police Association will mobilize the best experts they can find to dissect every minute of the video that’s available. They will hire the best lawyers to discredit any Crown witnesses put forward by the Crown prosecutors.”
Pieters said the widely circulated video of the incident probably played a big role in the decision to charge Forcillo.
For Ruth Schaeffer, whose son Levi was shot and killed by police in 2009, the charge is a welcome move, but she, too, is wary that change will come.
“I will have to wait and see. I don’t have any trust in them,” said Schaeffer. “They will have to show me what they’re going to do.”
Schaeffer railed against Chief Bill Blair for launching a review of the police use of force, saying that recommendations are already available but not followed.
“There are hundreds of recommendations from inquests held for people killed by police, tons of recommendations, and none of them were ever instituted by anybody,” Schaeffer said.
To Ontario Federation of Labour president Sid Ryan, the news was a sign of a shift within the police force.
“There’s a major crack in the thin blue line today,” Ryan said. “I would say that this is earth-shattering. This potentially will lead to the kind of changes that we’ve been asking for.”