While America deals with case, after case, after case of police killing civilians without consequences, and internet memes appear about problems of police violence in the US, Canada has come to the forefront of dealing with the issue in the Sammy Yatim case.
A shooting that was caught on camera from multiple different angles is now before a jury, a police officer charged with second degree murder.
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Early in the morning of July 27, 2013 Sammy Yatim was aboard a crowded streetcar in the west end of Toronto. An autopsy would later show that at the time he had a “moderate to moderately high” level of ecstasy, as well as marijuana and trace amounts of cocaine in his system.
He exposed himself to women and slashed at one with a small (three inch) knife. Terrified passengers fled and Yatim paced in the empty streetcar as a crowd gathered and police were called. The leadup to the shooting was also caught on video.
Officer James Forcillo, a six year veteran with an impeccable service record, and his partner were the first to arrive on the scene and as such he was the officer in charge of the situation pending the arrival of a sergeant. The entire confrontation lasts fifty seconds.
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Yatim comes to the front of the streetcar and begins to engage with the officers from the top of the stairs. Officer Forcillo pulls out his gun and stands approximately 12 feet from Yatim while pointing the weapon at him.
Forcillo yells “drop the knife” and Yatim answers “you’re a fucking pussy”.
Sammy Yatim moves towards the stairs and Officer Forcillo tells him “if you take one more step in this direction, that’s it for you, I’m telling you right now”. Yatim turns around and goes further into the streetcar. Another officer then begins to yell “drop the knife” but before he can finish his sentence Yatim begins to turn around to face the exit again.
Officer Forcillo fires three shots.
Yatim falls to the floor of the streetcar, and other officers yell for Yatim to “drop it”.
Forcillo fires six more shots.
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By the next morning cellphone video has been posted on YouTube and gone viral (the original video posted three times with different audio and video enhancements was viewed more than 2.5 million times). It is reposted thousands of times on social media and the incident is the lead news story across the country.
Two days later thousands of people gather in Yonge-Dundas Square (Canada’s equivalent of Times Square) to protest. They carry “Justice for Sammy” signs and march to a nearby police station. A confrontation ensues and Officers barricade the doors to the station. March organizers struggle to prevent the protest from turning into a riot.
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In America this is where the story has ended. A civilian is killed by police and despite all protests and unfairness the case is quietly swept under the rug. In Canada the case went in a very different direction.
The Special Investigations Unit immediately became involved. SIU followed standard procedure and took Officer Forcillo’s phone from him and segregated the officers at the scene to prevent them from colluding and corrupting the investigation.
Police Chief (and now Liberal Member of Parliament) Bill Blair called for an independent review which led to retired Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci issuing 84 recommendations for changing police culture (including outfitting more police with Tasers and body cameras for police). The Ontario Ombudsman and Independent Police Review Director also issued reports on use-of-force and de-escalation techniques.
Most importantly, three weeks after Sammy Yatim died, Officer James Forcillo was charged with murder.
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The Sammy Yatim Trial has been the legal event of the year in Canada - which is saying something given that the Prime Minister’s chief of staff testified during the trial of a Senator charged with illegal use of funds and child soldier / convicted terrorist Omar Khadr’s legal adventures came to a head.
Jury selection for the trial began in September and closing arguments were made January 8th. Justice Edward Then concluded his jury instructions yesterday and jury deliberations began this morning. The national media has reported the testimony day by day as the dozens of civilian, police and expert witnesses have testified as to what as to what occurred on the fateful night.
The country has learned that eight of the nine shots hit Yatim and that the first volley of three shots were the fatal ones, piercing Yatim’s heart, severing his spine and crippling him.
Officer Forcillo testified at length and stated that he “wanted to win” the confrontation. He also stated that he believed Yatim was about to lunge at him with the knife. Despite the fact that the first volley of three shots were fatal and had paralyzed Yatim from the chest down, Forcillo claimed that he fired the second volley of six shots because Yatim was “renewing the attack”. To be fair, Officer Forcillo has said that if he could, and knowing what he knows now, he would take those shots back. It should also be noted that he is facing a separate charge of attempted murder for the second volley.
The police have circled the wagons, and several officers have been caught in blatant falsehoods during the trial. Constable Robert Furyk testified that he had seen Yatim try to get back up after the first volley despite the fact that he did not arrive on the scene until after the second volley. Sergeant Dan Pravica (who is under investigation for tasering Yatim after the second volley) testified that Yatim was “making every effort” to get up despite the fact that he had been paralyzed by the first volley and video clearly shows this.
Peter Brauti, Officer Forcillo’s counsel and one of the top criminal lawyers in Canada, has argued that the case is unfairly seeking to “criminalize a judgment call” by a police officer. In his closing submissions Brauti blamed the victim, stating “(Yatim) disobeyed the orders; he got himself shot; that’s what happened”.
He also forcefully argued that:
“This case, is about second-guessing where an officer is allowed to draw his or her line in the sand to defend themselves and the public when a person high on drugs is coming towards them with a prohibited weapon after being told not to do so.”
Brauti is undoubtedly helped in making this argument by the fact that Yatim’s conduct was far worse than that of any of the various American victims. Had he not been killed Yatim would be in jail right now, he would have been charged with attempted murder and a variety of other less serious offences.
Evidence has been introduced throughout the case to rebut this defence including the Deputy Chief of Police for Toronto testifying that an officer’s firearm is the “last resort” and to be used after all other de-escalation techniques have failed.
The Crown Attorney also addressed this defence forcefully and head-on in his closing submissions:
“In your deliberations, you may wonder about what kind of allowance we should properly give a police officer when they see a teenager holding a knife on a streetcar … There is a law in Canada that says when police may and may not use lethal force. It is the rule of law that separates this country from other places in the world. In Canada, police officers are not permitted to kill anyone unless it is reasonable and necessary in order to prevent death or grievous harm … In our system of justice, in our liberal democracy, police do not get to judge themselves. Police officers cannot and certainly do not deserve to be treated differently from any other accused person. Whether the accused is a prime minister or a plumber, whether the accused is an army general or a janitor, whether the accused is a police officer or a clerk, they will be judged by a jury composed of persons such as yourself.”
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The country’s largest newspaper has indicated that the jury’s decision will “be one of the most closely watched verdicts in Toronto’s history, reaching beyond the victim and accused to impact policing, police accountability and the justice system.”
The outcome of the case is far from a certainty, but just the fact that Officer Forcillo was charged with murder and his case is currently in the hands of a jury is a significant victory against police violence — and hopefully a lesson for American prosecutors.
