Toronto Constable Forcillo, who shot Sammy Yatim, wants Supreme Court of Canada to hear case

Published on Monday, July 9, 2018, the Toronto Star article, Toronto cop who shot Sammy Yatim wants case heard at Supreme Court of Canada,” confirms “Forcillo’s lawyers are now seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, arguing in part that Crown prosecutors did not establish, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Forcillo’s volleys of bullets were entirely different incidences, and not just one continuous event.

Falconers LLP represents the mother of Sammy Yatim, Sahar Bahadi, in a civil law suit, against Constable Forcillo and the Toronto Police Service. The action was issued on October 11, 2013.

“While the circumstances may be unique, Forcillo’s conviction raises fundamental questions about the necessary elements the Crown must prove in order to convict an accused of an attempt to commit an offence where there is no issue that the offence has been completed,” read arguments written by lawyers Michael Lacy, Joseph Wilkinson and Bryan Badali,” as reported from the Toronto Star.

On January 29, 2016, a jury delivered a guilty verdict in the trial of James Forcillo in the death of Sammy Yatim.  Forcillo was found guilty of attempted murder, and not guilty of  second degree murder or manslaughter.  Sammy was shot nine times by Constable Forcillo on July 27, 2013, while confined within a TTC streetcar and surrounded by numerous Toronto police officers.  The jury rejected Constable Forcillo’s testimony that Sammy presented a real threat to the officer at the time that he discharged his weapon a further six times while Sammy lay mortally wounded on the floor of the streetcar.  The jury was not satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that Constable Forcillo was guilty of murder.

April 30, 2018: In a unanimous decision, Chief Justice of Ontario George Strathy, Justice David Doherty and Justice Gary Trotter dismissed Constable James Forcillo’s appeal of both his conviction in the 2013 shooting death of 18-year-old Sammy Yatim, and the six-year jail sentence handed down by trial judge Justice Edward Then.

As mentioned in a Toronto star article, “(Forcillo) knew from his training that Mr. Yatim did not pose an imminent threat to anyone merely by re-arming himself with a knife. He knew that he was not entitled to kill Mr. Yatim in these circumstances, yet he proceeded to fire six additional rounds fixed with that lethal intent,” the decision states.

In the News

Toronto cop who shot Sammy Yatim wants case heard at Supreme Court of Canada    The Star, July 9, 2018

Toronto cop who shot Sammy Yatim pleads guilty to perjury over false affidavit    The Star, May 31, 2018

James Forcillo has six months added to sentence after pleading guilty to perjury   The Globe and Mail, May 31, 2018

Six months added to James Forcillo’s sentence   Guelph Mercury, May 31, 2018

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