Forcillo found guilty of attempted murder

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The Toronto police officer who shot Sammy Yatim on an empty street car two years ago was found guilty today but not of the most serious charges he was facing.

It was a chaotic scene, as James Forcillo walked out of the courthouse on University avenue in Toronto after making bail. He’ll appear in court again May 16th. It took the jury 35 hours over 6 days to deliberate, finding Forcillo not guilty of second degree murder, not guilty of manslaughter, and guilty of attempted murder.

Forcillo was charged with second degree murder for the first three shots that hit and killed 18 year old Sammy Yatim on July 27th 2013. Forcillo was also charged with attempted murder for the final 6 shots taken when Yatim was already on the floor dying.

After court today, Yatim’s mother said police actions have taken her son but rather than vengeance, she wants progress.

The guilty verdict comes with a mandatory 4 year sentence because a firearm was involved, but Forcillo’s defence will keep him out of jail for the time being, because they’re challenging both the mandatory sentence and the trial itself.The judge will hear the defence challenge on May the 16th, the entire motion is expected to take several days.

* Criminal defence lawyer Jeff Manishen joined Nick Dixon to talk more about about the verdict:

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