Death of Sammy Yatim

Death of Sammy Yatim

Graffiti on a Toronto sidewalk in memory of Sammy Yatim, July 31, 2013.
Time	Just after 12:00AM
Date	July 27, 2013 (2013-07-27)
Location	Dundas Street and Bellwoods Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Participants	James Forcillo (shooter)
Deaths	Sammy Yatim
Charges	Second degree murder Attempted murder
Litigation	$8-million lawsuit filed against Toronto Police Force by Sammy Yatim's family[1]

The death of Sammy Yatim occurred on the evening of July 27, 2013, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Yatim, an 18-year-old Toronto man, was shot eight times and missed once by 30-year-old Toronto Police Service officer James Forcillo. He later died from the injuries.^[2] The incident occurred on the westbound 505 Dundas streetcar line at Dundas Street West and Bellwoods Avenue, after Yatim brandished a three-inch knife and exposed himself.^[3] After being shot, he was Tasered.^[4] He was pronounced dead at St. Michael's Hospital.

The incident was recorded and footage of it was released for public viewing. On August 19, 2013, James Forcillo was charged with second-degree murder. On July 30, 2014, he was additionally charged with attempted murder.

In July 2014, an $8-million lawsuit was filed against Toronto Police Force by Sammy Yatim's family.^[1] The shooting and subsequent investigation and trial have raised questions about police accountability in Toronto.^[5]

Shooting

At 10:30 pm on July 27, Sammy Yatim boarded a streetcar on the 505 Dundas line.^[6] Sometime afterwards, he drew his three-inch knife and told passengers to remain on the streetcar, reportedly acting aggressively towards other passengers.^[7] Fearing for their lives, the passengers promptly tried to escape. Yatim then revised his demands, ordering everyone off the streetcar. He began to approach the driver of the vehicle but stopped to shout obscenities at the crowd gathering outside. The driver of the streetcar remained at the controls until shortly before police arrived.^[8]

Passenger and witness Aaron Li-Hill said that upon boarding the streetcar he initially noticed Yatim sitting at the back, across from a group of teenage girls.^[8] He later heard giggling from the back of the streetcar followed by a scream, then saw Yatim brandishing a knife as the girls ran past him toward the front doors.^[8] According to witness Jessica Doyle, another passenger on the streetcar, Yatim seemed irate, mentally unstable, and oblivious to her presence as he walked directly past her aboard the streetcar.^[9] Doyle reported that as he walked past her, Yatim was holding his exposed genitals in his left hand and a knife in his right hand.^[9] According to Melody Garcia, another passenger, Yatim "took his penis out with one hand and a knife in another, threatening four girls and all the lives of people on that bus."^[8]

Police arrived at the scene. At the front of the vehicle, Constable James Forcillo of the Toronto Police Service called for a Taser multiple times, believing the situation "could be contained".^[7] According to videos of the incident, police asked Yatim to drop the knife and warned him not to "take one step in this direction". Forcillo then fired nine; three initially, followed by an additional six about five seconds later. Approximately 30 seconds later, another officer Tasered Yatim.^[7][10]

It was later determined that eight of the nine shots fired hit Yatim. Surveillance video suggests that Yatim was lying on the ground when the last six shots were fired.^[10][11]

Backgrounds

James Forcillo

James Forcillo was born December 30, 1982, in Montreal, Quebec. He is a second-generation Italian-Canadian.^[12][13] He was a constable with six years on the force at the time of the shooting.^[14] Forcillo graduated from a justice program at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park, California, United States, and received a psychology degree from York University in Toronto. Forcillo worked as a security guard in Toronto, and then was employed as a court services officer for three years. Up until Yatim's death, Forcillo worked as a patrol officer for three years.^[13]

Sammy Yatim

Sammy Adib Yatim was an ethnic Assyrian born on November 5, 1994, in Aleppo, Syria. It is unclear what provoked Yatim's behaviour the night he was shot. His family claimed that he had no history of mental illness or violence.^[15] Yatim emigrated to Toronto from Aleppo, Syria, with his family in 2008.^[16] He had recently graduated from Brebeuf College School in North York, Toronto and had told a friend he intended to focus on his education.^[16]

SIU response and criminal trial

The event received national coverage and attention,^[17] spawning street and online protests. The first protest blocked traffic on Dundas street downtown.^[18][19]

On August 8, the Ontario Ombudsman, André Marin, launched a review of police tactics for defusing heated situations, in the wake of public outcry over Yatim's death. The decision was criticized by the Toronto Police Association as a grandstanding political move, and the review as too vague in its goals.^[20]

On August 12, Toronto police chief Bill Blair announced he had enlisted former Associate Chief Justice of Ontario, Dennis O'Connor, to conduct an internal review of the use of force by police, and recommend ways police can better respond to situations involving the mentally unstable.^[21] On August 28, however, O'Connor withdrew from the police probe due to a potential conflict of interest.^[22]

There is no known investigation into the use of the Taser in the incident or into videos which allegedly show a police officer kicking shell casings inside the yellow police tape at the scene of the shooting.^[10]

On August 19, the Ontario Special Investigations Unit (SIU) announced James Forcillo was charged with second-degree murder, and surrendered on August 20. If convicted, the minimum sentence is life imprisonment without parole eligibility for at least ten years.^[23]

Free on $510,000 bail, Forcillo was not required to appear at the next stage of his preliminary hearing on December 11. Toronto police have stayed a disciplinary charge of discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act of Ontario until the criminal trial has finished.^[24] Despite this, he has returned to work, although he does not have a firearm nor is he wearing a TPS uniform. McCormack responded by saying "the situation is not unusual for officers who have been suspended."^[25]

On June 17, 2014, the preliminary inquiry ended with judge Richard LeDressay ordering Forcillo to stand trial in 2015. Evidence presented in the inquiry is under a publication ban. Forcillo continues to serve as a Toronto Crime Stoppers administrator.^[26] A specific trial date will be set on July 30.^[27]

On July 30, 2014, Crown prosecutors added the charge of attempted murder "by shooting (Yatim) with a firearm and thereby wounding him."^[28]

See also

• 2011 Sindh Rangers shooting incident

References