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Supreme Court to deliver ruling on leave to appeal for Toronto cop convicted in death of Sammy Yatim

April 30, 2018: Ontario's highest court has rejected the appeal of James Forcillo, the Toronto police officer convicted in the 2013 shooting death of Sammy Yatim, 18. As Eric Sorensen reports, Forcillo's actions are in stark contrast to those of Const. Ken Lam, who arrested the Toronto van attack suspect without firing a shot – Apr 30, 2018

The Supreme Court of Canada will release its judgment Thursday on leave to appeal for a Toronto police officer convicted of attempted murder in the shooting death of a teen on an empty streetcar.

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Const. James Forcillo fired two separate volleys at 18-year-old Sammy Yatim, who was standing alone and holding a small knife, in an incident on the morning of July 27, 2013 that ignited public outrage after a bystander’s video came to light.

In 2016, a jury acquitted Forcillo of the more serious charge of second-degree murder related to the first volley of shots — which killed the teen — but found him guilty of attempted murder related to the second hail of bullets, fired seconds later while Yatim was lying on his back.

Lawyers for Forcillo challenged the ruling, but Ontario’s top court dismissed the appeal in April.

In upholding Forcillo’s conviction and sentence, Ontario’s Court of Appeal found Forcillo’s second round of shots was “clearly unnecessary and excessive.”

His legal team is seeking to challenge the appeal court decision, arguing that the first and second volleys were “artificially” divided into two separate events, leading to the separate charges.

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They are also contesting Forcillo’s initial six-year sentence, which was a year longer than the mandatory minimum.

Forcillo recently had six months added to his sentence after pleading guilty to perjury.

He had also been charged with breaching the conditions of his bail while awaiting the Ontario Court of Appeal decision, along with obstruction of justice, but those charges were dropped after he entered the guilty plea.

VIDEO: Appeal dismissed in conviction of Const. James Forcillo in Sammy Yatim case

—With files from the Canadian Press

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