9 shots, 6years
Judge calls shooting of Sammy Yatim ‘unnecessary and unreasonable and excessive’
Const. James Forcillo will spend his first night in jail following a precedent-setting sentence of six years in prison for shooting 18-year-old Sammy Yatim on a streetcar in July 2013, but he may be released on bail pending appeal in time for the long weekend.
In his scathing ruling sentencing Forcillo, 33, to a year longer than the mandatory minimum of five years, Justice Edward Then sent a clear message that officers who break the law must be held to a higher standard than regular citizens because of the position of trust they are placed in.
“When a police officer has committed a serious crime of violence by breaking the law which the officer has sworn to uphold, it is the duty of the court to firmly denounce that conduct in an effort to repair and to affirm the trust that must exist between the community and the police to whom we entrust the use of lethal weapons within the limits prescribed by the criminal law,” he said.
Then criticized Forcillo for failing to follow his training to use lethal force only as a last resort, instead shooting Yatim six times as he lay injured and dying on the floor of the streetcar after an initial volley of three shots.
“The shooting of Mr. Yatim was unnecessary and unreasonable and excessive from the outset of the second volley,” he wrote. “The precipitous shooting of Mr. Yatim contrary to Officer Forcillo’s training constitutes a fundamental failure to understand his duty to protect all life and not just his own.”
Then’s sound rejection of the defence’s position that a sentence of two years of house arrest was appropriate and that a five-year sentence constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in this case was met with praise by justice system observers. (The Crown had asked for a sentence of eight to 10 years.)
“This is sending a message that police wrongdoing isn’t going to be condoned,” said David MacAlister, a professor of criminology at Simon Fraser University. “There have been a number of high-profile situations across the country and it has resulted in the public attitude toward police being adversely affected.”
“I think the sentence in this case reflects that the public does have concerns and something significant has to be done about it,” MacAlister said.
After a four-month trial that ended in January, a jury convicted Forcillo of attempted murder for firing the second set of shots, but acquitted him of second-degree murder for the first volley, which an autopsy concluded actually caused Yatim’s death.
He is the only police officer in Canada to have been convicted and sentenced for attempted murder, according to his lawyers.
Forcillo is appealing both his conviction and sentence, and seeking bail pending the appeal being heard. At a hearing at the Ontario Court of Appeal on Thursday afternoon, Forcillo’s lawyer Michael Lacy told a judge that the jury verdicts are a “logical absurdity” and the conviction should be reviewed.
The Crown opposed the bail application, arguing the enforcement of the sentence in such a serious case is where the public interest lies. The Crown concedes that Forcillo is not a flight risk and is not a danger to the public.
After the sentencing, Yatim’s father, Nabil, told reporters the journey to this moment had been long and difficult, but praised the judge’s decision.
He spent some hours on Wednesday, the third anniversary of Yatim’s death, staring at the wall and reliving the what-if questions that haunt him.
“The police and the public should be working hand in hand. De-escalation techniques need to be learned again,” he said of the change he hopes comes from his family’s loss. “I think the majority of (police officers) are superb, nice people, but you always have a bad apple or two.”
Yatim’s parents both said it bothered them that they have received no apology from Forcillo. When given the standard opportunity to address the court before being sentenced, Forcillo declined.
“That hurts a lot,” Yatim’s mother, Sahar Bahadi, said.
“He destroyed our families. He destroyed our lives, but never showed any kind of remorse.”
Bahadi’s lawyer, Julian Falconer, said the difference between this case and many others was the presence of irrefutable video evidence, and reiterated his call for body cameras to be worn by police officers.
“Close to impossible,” he said of convicting a police officer without video. “Just look at these facts. You have a situation where Officer Forcillo was trying to say Mr. Yatim was getting up again, and Justice Then was required to thoroughly reject that.”
Falconer called the sentence an exception to the rule, showing a police officer can be held accountable by the justice system.
“Bad policing was sentenced. And we should see it that way. Not a sentence on police officers,” he said.
Forcillo’s lawyer Peter Brauti said his client was held in protective cus-
Sammy Yatim’s parents both said it bothered them that they have received no apology from Forcillo for shooting their son
tody, away from other prisoners, after he was handcuffed and led from the packed courtroom.
Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders released a statement saying Forcillo had been suspended without pay after being sentenced Thursday.
Saunders said he could not comment on the decision as it is under appeal.
“The last three years have been difficult for everyone involved, including the families of Sammy Yatim and James Forcillo,” Saunders said. “The Toronto Police Service will continue to protect and support the public, and each other, and I am certain members will continue to do their jobs professionally and with respect.”
A decision on whether Forcillo will be granted bail pending appeal from Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Eileen Gillese is expected at 9 a.m. Friday.
An appeal could be scheduled for next spring at the earliest. With files from Wendy Gillis and Peter Edwards