TORONTO – A jury is now deliberating the fate of Const. James Forcillo, charged in the 2013 shooting death of 18-year-old Sammy Yatim. Here are some key dates:
July 27, 2013
Forcillo shoots nine bullets at Yatim after a 50 second standoff in which he repeatedly yells at the teen to drop a small knife the youth was holding. Yatim dies on the empty streetcar. The Special Investigations Unit – Ontario’s police watchdog – begins its investigation of the incident.
WATCH: Toronto Police caught shooting on camera (Warning, the video contains violent content that may be disturbing to some viewers)
July 29, 2013
Forcillo is suspended with pay from the police force. Toronto’s police chief says the force will do everything it can to answer all the questions surrounding Yatim’s “tragic” death. Hundreds of people, including members of Yatim’s family, take to the streets of downtown Toronto to protest the killing.
READ MORE: 5 things the jury didn’t hear at the Sammy Yatim trial
July 30, 2013
Forcillo is publicly identified as the officer who killed Yatim.
From Aug. 2013: Constable James Forcillo has been identified as Toronto police officer at the centre of the investigation into the shooting of 18-year-old Sammy Yatim.
Aug. 1, 2013
A funeral is held for Yatim.
Aug. 8, 2013
Ontario’s ombudsman says he will probe what kind of direction the provincial government provides to police for defusing conflict situations in the wake of Yatim’s death.
Aug. 12, 2013
Toronto’s police chief announces a review of police procedures, use of force and police response to emotionally disturbed people.
READ MORE: Ontario minister to announce changes to police use-of-force guidelines
Aug. 19, 2013
Forcillo is charged with second-degree murder in Yatim’s death.
READ MORE: Toronto cop who killed Sammy Yatim ‘a hothead and a bully’: Crown
Aug. 20, 2013
Forcillo is released on $510,000 bail.
WATCH: Toronto cop leaves courthouse after receiving bail
Aug. 27, 2013
Ontario’s government announces it will permit all front line police officers to carry stun guns. At the time of Yatim’s death, only supervisors carried the conductive weapons.
READ MORE: Front-line police officers in Ontario allowed to carry Tasers
February, 2014
Forcillo quietly returns to active duty at Toronto Crimestoppers in an administrative role.
June 17, 2014
Forcillo is committed to stand trial on his second-degree murder charge after the conclusion of a preliminary inquiry.
July 24, 2014
Former Supreme Court of Canada justice Frank Iacobucci releases his report on the use of lethal force by Toronto police, which was sparked by Yatim’s death. Among 84 recommendations, the review suggests that expanding police use of Tasers, equipping officers with body-worn cameras and educating them on mental-health issues could help prevent deadly use of force when dealing with those in crisis.
WATCH: Body cameras and better mental health training — those are just a couple of the 84 recommendations from a report reviewing police use of force. Sean Mallen reports.
July 30, 2014
Forcillo faces an additional charge of attempted murder in relation to Yatim’s death.
READ MORE: Toronto cop’s partner says she believed Sammy Yatim was ‘going to get himself shot’
Sept. 30, 2015
Forcillo pleads not guilty to second-degree murder and attempted murder in Yatim’s death.
Oct. 20, 2015
Opening statements are delivered at Forcillo’s trial in Toronto. Crown lawyers argue Forcillo’s actions during his confrontation with Yatim weren’t necessary or reasonable. His lawyer contends the officer’s actions were justified and carried out in self-defence.
Nov. 25, 2015
Forcillo takes the stand in his own defence, saying he never intended to kill anyone on the night he confronted Yatim.
WATCH: James Forcillo takes the stand in Sammy Yatim trial
Jan. 5, 2016
Closing arguments begin for the trial. Forcillo’s defense lawyer reiterated his case saying the accused was following his training and deserved an acquittal. Two days later, Crown lawyers argued that the police officer was “a hothead and a bully” and he had alternatives to lethal force.
Jan. 20, 2016
The jurors begin deliberations for the trial.
WATCH: As jurors deliberate in the case of a Toronto police officer charged with murder, there are things that came up in the courtroom with the jury present that can now be reported. Caryn Lieberman has more.
Jan. 25, 2016
After six days of deliberations, the jury found Forcillo guilty of attempted murder, but not-guilty of second degree murder and manslaughter.
Comments