Motion that Halted Sammy Yatim Inquest to be Heard Tomorrow
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Posted by Shelby Percival
- Posted in BlogsNews
For a copy of the motion made by counsel for Mr. Forcillo, please click here.
Tomorrow, November 23, 2022, parties will hear the motion that halted the Inquest into the Death of Sammy Yatim, whose death almost 10 years ago will be heard before the Presiding Coroner Dr. David Cameron. This proceeding will be live-streamed at 10:30am here.
The Inquest into the death of Sammy Yatim was scheduled to begin on November 14, 2022. However, due to a motion being filed by counsel for one of the parties, the inquest was postponed. The motion was filed in the late afternoon on Sunday November 13, 2022, less than 24 hours before the Inquest was scheduled to commence.
The postponement of the inquest has led to the continued suffering and heartache for Sammy’s family who are adamant on completing the inquest, and to see the development of meaningful recommendations from the jury to help ensure that such a tragedy does not happen again in the future.
Sammy Yatim was an 18-year-old man from Syria who had come to Canada to pursue higher education at both the high school and university level. At the time of his death, Sammy had been in Canada for four years and was preparing to start a program in hospital management at George Brown College. Sammy had been living with his father, Nabil, and his sister, Sara, in Toronto.
On July 27, 2013, Sammy was shot nine times by then Constable James Forcillo of the Toronto Police Service on a TTC streetcar. The shooting was investigated by the Special Investigations Unit (“SIU”). On January 25, 2016, Constable Forcillo was found guilty of attempted murder and not guilty of second-degree murder/manslaughter. Forcillo was later found guilty on an additional charge of perjury for not disclosing accurate information relevant to his bail conditions. Forcillo was sentenced to six years in prison on July 28, 2016.
The inquest into Sammy’s death was intended to look specifically at mechanisms and processes to promote good decision-making by police officers and best practices for police responding to a person in crisis. Falconers LLP has the honour of representing the mother of Sammy Yatim, Dr. Sahar Bahadi in the inquest proceedings as well as her civil case against Mr. Forcillo.
Media Coverage
Wendy Gillis, The Toronto Star (Nov. 23, 2022) – “’Suicide by Cop’: Sammy Yatim inquest derailed by convicted officer’s ‘outrageous’ 11th-hour motion”
Molly Hayes, The Globe and Mail (Nov. 23, 2022) – “Lawyer of ex-officer convicted in Sammy Yatim’s death delays inquest with ‘suicide by cop’ motion”
Tyler Griffin, CTV News Toronto (Nov. 23, 2022) – “Police officer who fatally shot teen argues inquest should consider ‘suicide by cop”
Michele Mandel, The Toronto Sun (Nov. 23, 2022) – “The nerve of a bad cop still trying to blame Sammy Yatim for his death”
CBC News (Nov. 14, 2022) – “Mother still waiting after Sammy Yatim inquest delayed again, almost 10 years after police shooting”
CTV News (Nov. 14, 2022) – “Coroner’s Inquest into fatal shooting of teen by Toronto police postponed”
Solicitor General (Oct. 24, 2022) – “Inquest Date into the Death of Sammy Yatim Announced”
CBC News (Oct. 24, 2022) – “Coroner’s inquest into police shooting of Sammy Yatim set for November”
Related Postings:
https://falconers.ca/toronto-constable-forcillo-who-shot-sammy-yatim-wants-supreme-court-of-canada-to-hear-case/ – July 10, 2018
https://falconers.ca/james-forcillo-cop-who-killed-sammy-yatim-admits-perjury-gets-6-more-months-in-jail/ – June 1, 2018
https://falconers.ca/forcillo-sentencing/ – July 29, 2016
