The Canadian Press
Diana Mehta
TORONTO—A Toronto police officer yesterday was found guilty of attempted murder in the shooting death of a troubled teen on an empty streetcar, a verdict the teen’s mother called a first step in changing the way police deal with people in crisis.
After six days of deliberations, an 11-member jury cleared Cst. James Forcillo of the more serious charge of second-degree murder in the 2013 death of 18-year-old Sammy Yatim—an incident that sparked public protests in the city.
“Sammy was a young man who had his whole future ahead of him,” Yatim’s mother, Sahar Bahadi, said moments after the verdict was read out.
“Because of what the police did, we lost him forever.”
Forcillo’s lawyer indicated the defence would try to have the proceedings stayed, which would prevent a conviction from being registered—claiming abuse of process.
“We say the abuse of process is Cst. Forcillo substantially followed the police training he was given and so if the state gave him that training, they should not be entitled to a conviction in the matter,” Peter Brauti said outside the courthouse.
“This is Phase 1 of a long road for us.”
Forcillo, who remains out on bail, showed little emotion as his verdict was delivered, maintaining the same stoic expression he’s held throughout the trial.
Yatim’s mother, who was seated in the front row of the courtroom, later called the verdict an opportunity to change policing.
“For me, it’s the first step,” Bahadi said.
“I would now 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,” she added.
Forcillo’s case will be back in court in mid-May, when Brauti will argue for the stay of proceedings.
He also will bring a constitutional challenge to the mandatory minimum sentence Forcillo faces after being found guilty of attempted murder, which is four years in prison.
An appeal in the case also is being considered.
“It’s early days still for Officer Forcillo; he’s still got a lot of fight ahead of him,” Brauti stressed.
Brauti added he believed the outcome of the verdict could have been changed if he had been allowed to present the jury with a “suicide-by-cop” theory, which the judge did not allow at trial.
That theory suggested Yatim was depressed and didn’t comply with police orders because he didn’t care about his own life and was prepared to act in a way that would lead to police actions resulting in his death.
“We thought the suicide-by-cop was a huge part of our defence,” said Brauti.
“We were shocked and disappointed we weren’t allowed to put that to the jury, and I believe it would have had an effect.”
Forcillo, 32, had pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and attempted murder in Yatim’s death, which was captured on cellphone videos that went viral online.
The public outrage over the incident prompted the city’s police chief to launch a review of officers’ use of force and their response to emotionally-disturbed people.
Crown prosecutors had argued Forcillo’s actions weren’t necessary or reasonable while his lawyer called those actions justified and carried out in self-defence.
The second-degree murder charge against the officer relates to the first three shots he fired while the attempted murder charge pertains to the second volley of six shots.
Some lawyers who followed the case said it appeared jurors tried to reach a compromise.
The verdict suggests jurors believed the first round of shots—which led to Yatim’s death—was fired in self-defence, but found the second volley was unjustified, the lawyers said.
