In what experts are calling a landmark case, a Toronto police officer has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of teen Sammy Yatim — only the second time an on-duty officer in the city has faced such a serious criminal charge in more than 20 years.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) announced Const. James Forcillo, 30, would be charged Monday, three weeks after Yatim, 18, was shot on an empty Dundas streetcar and later died in hospital.

“It sends a shockwave,” police union president Mike McCormack said following the announcement. “He’s completely destroyed by this.”

McCormack said Forcillo — who has spent six years on the force, split between court services at Old City Hall and as a uniformed constable in 14 Division, where the shooting occured — has received threats over social media and by phone. That caused his lawyers and the SIU to arrange a secret surrender Tuesday morning, where Forcillo will be taken into custody before he appears at Old City Hall.

“This has been a very polarizing incident,” McCormack said. “We have been concerned about his safety and security.”

More in the Star:





SIU has short history of manslaughter, murder charges in Toronto

Timeline of events after teen shot dead

Family 'relieved' by SIU decision to charge officer with murder

Questions still begging for answers

At various times Monday, between one and four cruisers were parked outside Forcillo’s North York home, which is converted into three apartments. Neighbours say he has lived there with his wife and children for less than a year.

McCormack said the Toronto Police Association would have preferred the case be handled at an inquest and not a criminal trial.

“We’re disappointed any time one of our officers are charged,” he said. “This is not the forum we wanted to see this, sort of, explored in.”

Critics and Yatim’s family applauded the news Monday, expressing relief after thousands flooded Toronto’s streets demanding justice in the teen’s death.

This is the second time SIU director Ian Scott has charged a police officer with second-degree murder in his five-year term, which ends in October. A press release Monday said Scott had “reasonable grounds” to believe Forcillo committed a criminal offence when he shot Yatim just after midnight on July 27.

A second-degree murder charge carries a potential life sentence.

Five other Toronto officers and four other Ontario officers have faced charges of manslaughter since the SIU’s inception in 1990.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

University of Windsor law professor David Tanovich says Yatim’s shooting is a “watershed case” involving police. “Simply because there is such strong video evidence showing exactly what happened,” Tanovich said. “I don’t see how anyone could come to a conclusion that the conduct was reasonable and necessary.”

Tavonich says the case differs from another recent police shooting by an Emergency Task Force (ETF) officer, Const. David Cavanagh, because that case involved a question of whether the officer intentionally discharged his firearm, killing Etobicoke man Eric Osawe inside his apartment during a 2010 raid.

Tanovich said that, even in that case, Scott felt there was sufficient evidence to charge the officer with second-degree murder. It was not a difficult legal decision to charge Forcillo, he said.

“I just don’t see how the SIU has any choice.”

No Toronto police officer has ever been convicted of murder in an on-duty killing. Lawyer Peter Rosenthal, who is representing the family of slain Toronto man Michael Eligon at an upcoming coroner’s inquest, said the video in Yatim’s case could make the difference.

“The video evidence is very compelling,” Rosenthal said.

He pointed to the fact that in one video posted to YouTube, Yatim is seen on the ground even as Forcillo continues to fire. In one bystander video, nine shots can be heard before Yatim is Tasered by a supervisor.

“And I would think that the officer’s going to have a very difficult time facing that,” Rosenthal said.

Forcillo’s lawyers, with the firm Brauti Thorning Zibarras LLP, refused to comment on the case Monday.

McCormack said the public should still not rush to judgment.

“This is exactly trial and conviction by YouTube,” he said. “It’s significant, but it’s not the entire story.”

Criminal lawyer Mark Halfyard said release on bail for second-degree murder is not unprecedented, but difficult given the seriousness of the charge.

“Whether the officer receives bail will depend a great deal on whether he has good sureties, a high bond and a good plan of supervision,” he said in an email. “The court will no doubt also consider whether he was acting in self-defence and that the offence occurred in his line of work.”

Forcillo was suspended with pay following the incident — something the Toronto Police said would not change during criminal proceedings. According to the province’s public disclosure of salary — better known as the Sunshine List — Forcillo earned $106,800 in 2012.

Under the provincial Police Service Act, all Ontario officers are suspended with pay — something the Toronto Police Services Board chair Alok Mukherjee and Chief Bill Blair both said last week they would like to see changed.

Of the six previous Toronto cases involving charges of manslaughter or murder, all officers were acquitted or charges dismissed. Cavanagh’s is the only case that hangs in the balance after a judge dismissed his second-degree murder charge at a preliminary hearing earlier this year. The Crown has appealed and a decision is expected by Sept. 1.

Now that the SIU investigation has been completed, Blair has 30 days to report to the police board on the conduct of the officer as part of a mandatory internal review. Last week, Blair announced he had appointed retired Ontario associate chief justice Dennis O’Connor to conduct the review, looking at use-of-force policies, especially when dealing with the mentally ill.

With files from Betsy Powell, Curtis Rush and Alyshah Hasham

Read more about: