Const. James Forcillo is pleading for a chance.

A chance to tell his side of the story. A chance to prove that he is not guilty of murdering 18-year-old Sammy Yatim when his trial actually begins, likely no earlier than a year from now. A chance to be considered innocent before proven guilty.

But too many of us have already made up our minds, rushing to convict the officer based on some YouTube videos and emotional marches in the street.

“This is a very difficult and frustrating time for me and my family,” the father of two said in an exclusive statement provided to the Toronto Sun. “I am unable to comment on the case and tell my side of the events until I have my trial. It is disappointing that some people would like to see me found guilty before hearing my side of this case and considering all the evidence.

“I can only have faith that this case will be judged by 12 people who are interested in hearing and seeing all of the evidence which will explain why I took the steps that I did the night of the shooting.”

That tragic night began just before midnight July 27, 2013 when, according to witnesses who later spoke to the media last summer, a young man at the back of the Dundas streetcar stood up with a four-inch knife in one hand and his penis in the other. Three girls screamed and fled out the front of the vehicle, followed by a stream of other terrified passengers.

Forcillo and his fellow officers arrived on the scene to find the streetcar stopped near Trinity-Bellwoods park, with only Yatim still aboard.

Cellphone video uploaded soon after the shooting shows police repeatedly demanding that Yatim drop his knife. He taunted them in return, calling them “a f---ing pussy” as he paced by the door of the streetcar. Suddenly, Forcillo opened fire — three shots followed by a pause and then six more could be heard several seconds later.

Yatim was pronounced dead at St. Michael’s Hospital. After a three-week investigation by the SIU, Forcillo was under arrest for murder.

Following a preliminary hearing that ended June 16, the seven-year police veteran was committed to stand trial. The impression left by many — myself included — was that a judge had decided there was sufficient evidence to proceed with the serious indictment, making Forcillo only the third Ontario police officer ever charged with murder while on the job.

But as it turns out, his lawyer Peter Brauti says there was never a chance that Forcillo might be discharged at the prelim — as his client ETF Const. David Cavanagh was in 2013. There was always agreement that Forcillo intentionally fired his weapon — the question is whether he was justified.

“I conceded committal (on second-degree murder) at the beginning of the case,” Brauti explains in his downtown office. “Legally, when dealing with a claim of self defence and defence of others — here it’s the public — those are trial issues that only a trial can decide. Going to trial was a foregone conclusion.”

While the evidence presented at the preliminary inquiry remains sealed under a publication ban, Brauti was anxious to dispel some rumours that have swirled around his client. “Of any case I’ve ever done, I’ve never seen a guy treated more unfairly in the media and the court of public opinion. That’s straight from the heart.”

First off, Brauti insists Forcillo is not a steroid-using Rambo as suggested in some early stories. “Show me one shred of evidence of that,” he demands.

The oft-used photo of a bearded Forcillo in sunglasses looking “as if he’s some kind of thug” was actually taken to promote his participation in Movember, the annual charity fundraiser for prostate cancer. Forcillo was involved in a gym 15 years ago, but his postings on his website were actually anti-steroid use, he says. “Anything that can get flipped, gets flipped on this guy.”

And rather than gun happy, sources quoted in reports following the shooting said Forcillo was actually the officer who called for a Taser to deal with the tense situation. But the sergeant authorized to use the stun gun — front line constables are not — didn’t arrive until after shots were fired.

The question, of course, is why did Forcillo pull the trigger — not once but nine times?

Frustrating for all involved, that evidence is covered by the pub ban. Posted footage from cellphones and nearby businesses don’t cover all the angles, although some appear to show Yatim taking a step forward.

In enhanced audio posted on YouTube, an officer can be heard saying, “You take one step in this direction with that foot ... (inaudible) die.” Did Yatim make a sudden movement or threat?

“The public has only seen some of the videos that are available and there will be other videos seen at trial that will tell a different story,” his lawyer predicts.

In the meantime, Forcillo is presumed guilty.

Both he and his wife have received death threats and public outrage against him was rekindled in April by the Sun’s exclusive story that Forcillo was back on the job.

He was initially suspended with pay by Police Chief Bill Blair even before the murder charges were laid against him. But the chief quietly allowed him to return to work in February in an administrative role for CrimeStoppers. “I can only assume as more disclosure was released, they realized it was not quite the case it was billed as and they brought him back on modified duties,” Brauti says.

“He desperately wanted to be back at work. He did not want to be sitting at home getting a paycheque and not working.”

Instead, Forcillo is under fire again. His lawyer wonders whether there is any chance he can get a fair trial here.

“I’ve got to climb a mountain just to get a level playing field,” Brauti complains. “It’s not right and it could cause a great injustice. We’re not talking a mischief charge. We’re talking murder. He’s charged with an offence that carries a life sentence because you made a decision at your workplace.”

There’s no doubt he has his work cut out for him. A teen with a small knife is killed in a hail of police bullets on an empty streetcar. At trial he will have to convince the court of public opinion that there was no other way.

Forcillo is asking us to wait until then. ​

michele.mandel@sunmedia.ca