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What We Didn T Know Before The James Forcillo Trial

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The controversial debate regarding the excessive use of force that has at many times been implemented is becoming more and more frequent in the news. With the help of the following articles, What we didn’t know before the James Forcillo Trial by Wendy Gillis, Toronto cop James Forcillo granted bail in fatal TTC shooting by City News, Sammy Yatim Streetcar Shooting: Toronto Police Investigation Leaves Unanswered Questions by, The Huffington Post, Toronto cops convicted and accused of bad behavior may hurt public trust: critics by, Mark Carcasole and Why James Forcillo was charged with murder in the Yatim shooting by CBC News, I am going to prove my point. It is never okay for a police officer to shoot to kill. They are supposed to shoot, …show more content…

They are supposed to shoot a body part that is not close to any vital organs. Sammy Yatim, a 17 year old kid that was killed by a police officer, James Forcillo, should not be dead right now. “The jury heard Forcillo shoot three times, waited about six seconds, then shot six more times” (page 3, What we didn’t know before the James Forcillo trial). Yatim was already injured and unable to move. He was shot multiple times after that, for no good reason whatsoever. Forcillo didn’t have to do what he did in the first place, there was other policeman with him and Yatim was not a threat after the first round of shots. “And since when does a scrawny 110-pound-something teenager become a threat to a dozen or so brawny policemen, when he is isolated in an empty streetcar that they felt that they had no other choice but to use lethal force?” (page 2, Sammy Yatim Streetcar shooting: Toronto Police Investigation Leaves Unanswered Questions). He didn’t even have to shoot him in the first place. There were other things he could have …show more content…

Robert Warshaw, a former American police chief who specializes in reforming problematic police departments, said one of Forcillo’s key failures was he did not try to buy himself time. Instead of firing his gun, Forcillo could have done everything from verbal communication intended to cool an emotional situation, to offering Yatim a glass of water, to using pepper spray, to throwing an object, such as a baseball at Yatim.
“All of those opportunities to de-escalate the situation just never materialized. There was no effort,” Warshaw said.” (page 5, What we didn’t know before the James Foricllo trial)
Forcillo just didn’t care about Yatim’s life. He didn’t intend on keeping him alive at all.

Just because they are police officers, doesn’t mean they have a right to anyones life or should get special treatment. Forcillo claimed that he fired the second round of shots because he thought Sammy Yatim was getting back up.
Five-and-a-half seconds later, Forcillo fires the second burst of six shots, five of which strike Yatim. Key to Forcillo’s testimony was that he fired the second volley of shots because he believed Yatim was getting back up “to continue the

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