Const. James Forcillo appealing attempted murder conviction in fatal shooting of Sammy Yatim

A lawyer for Toronto Const. James Forcilloappeared in a Toronto courtroom Thursday afternoon to outline his case forappealing the officer's conviction for the attempted murder of Sammy Yatim, the 18-year-old shot dead aboard a streetcar in July 2013.

Forcillowas sentenced to sixyears in prison earlier today.

Arguing before Justice Eileen E. Gillese in the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Michael Lacydescribedthe conviction as "unprecedented."

He also sought bail forForcillo, describing himas an ideal candidate who poses no risk to the community, while arguingthis was not a case of "gratuitous" murder.

Gillesesaidshe did not want to rush a decision and that court will reconvene on Friday at 9 a.m.Forcillowill remain in custody overnight.

• Const. James Forcillo sentence: Read the full document
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• Sammy Yatim's parents say son received justice after sentencing, but nothing will bring him back

Lacy laid out nine grounds for appeal, including that thetrial judge erredin not introducing circumstantial evidence pertaining toYatim's state of mind at the time of the shooting, and inprohibitingexpert evidence on thephenomenonof "suicide by cop."

He alsosaid the court needsto consider the "proverbial elephant in the room" namely that the proceedings are taking place in a "fishbowl" because of the high level of public interest in the outcome.But this should not in any way affect the proceedings themselves, Lacy said.

6-year sentence

Ontario Superior Court Justice Edward Then opened the officer's sentencing hearing Thursday morning by saying he had "no choice" but to sentence Forcillo to at least the five-year minimum for attempted murder.

Forcilloappeared stone-faced as the judge read his sentence. His wife, Irina, sat with her eyes closed as Forcillo was handcuffed and led awayto a holding cell at the University Avenue courthouse.

The decision rejectsForcillo'sconstitutional challenge of the mandatory minimum five-year sentence. His lawyers had argued the minimumshould not apply to a police officer on duty.

In January, ajury acquittedForcilloof second-degree murder, but he was convicted ofattempted murder for continuing to shootatYatimwhile the teenagerwas lyingon the floor of an empty streetcar. Police were called after it was reportedYatimhad exposed himself to women on the streetcar and drew a switchblade, whichForcillorepeatedly asked him to drop.

• JamesForcilloguilty of attempted murder in streetcar shooting ofSammyYatim
• Forcilloattempted murder verdict explained

Forcillo firedtwoseparate volleysthree shotsand then six shots atYatim,who had consumedecstasy before boarding the streetcar.

The acquittal was tied to the first volley of shots, but the conviction on attempted murder was linked to the second volley, fired while Yatim was on the ground. Thursday'ssentencing decision means JusticeThen effectively believes that Yatim was only a potential threat when the second volley of shots were fired, not an imminent threat.

Moralblameworthiness

The judgesaid all the shots in the second volley were "unreasonable, unnecessary and excessive," and contrary to Forcillo'spolicetraining.

He rejected the defence's arguments that Forcillo was justified in firingthe second set of shots because the officer mistakenly believedYatim was trying to get up. Then ruled that wasn't supported by evidence presented during Forcillo's trial.

Then said the sentence must match the crime,andthatattempted murder is "one of the most serious offences known to law." He saidForcillohas a "high level"of moralblameworthiness for firing the second volley.

Forcillo'sdefence team had askedthe court for a sentence ofhouse arrest. The Crown had asked for an eight- to 10-year prison sentence, which Then said was "not reasonable."

'Failed in his duty'

Thensaid police officers must be held to a higher standard than members of the public and added that Forcillo should have used de-escalation or communication techniques to get Yatim to surrender his weapon. He said Forcillo "failed in his duty to Mr. Yatim" when he fired the second volley of shots.

Outside the court,Yatim'smotherSaharBahadithankedthe judge for his "consideration in the sentence" and saidthefamily will now focus on "putting the pieces back together."

"I miss my son dearly, but I'm pleased that today he received justice," she said. "Sammywill never be coming back to us, but I want him back."

Bahadisaid she's angry Forcillo"didn't show any kind of remorse" for his crime.

Forcillo's lawyerPeter Brautisaid theprocess of appealingthe sentencing decision a separate undertaking from appealing the conviction itselfis already underway.

Defence team reacts to Forcillo sentencing

8 years ago

Duration 0:53

Lawyer says officer will appeal 6-year jail term

"We're disappointed that the legislation wasn't struck down and he received a sentence of six years. But the judge called it how he saw it. It's not how we saw the nature of the offence," he said.

Forcillohas also been suspended without pay.

CBC'sMichelleCheungis gathering reaction to the sentencing. Follow her blogfor up-to-the minuteupdates.

You can also follow thebloghere.

The Yatim shooting and the events leading up to it were captured on video cameras aboard the streetcar. Cellphone videos of Yatim's death taken by passersby were also shared widely on social media, sparking outrage and spurring a police chief's review of police use of force when dealing with emotionally disturbed people.

Then said the video provided "powerful evidence" that laid bare police actions that amounted to "an egregious breach of trust."

Moments after the sentence was read, Mayor John Tory said the city is working with the board that provides civilian oversight of police to prevent similar deaths.

"I have no particular comment on the sentence," said Tory. "But I will say we are spending a lot of time at the Police Services Board trying to figure out how to de-escalate these circumstances so you can have zero people die."