Eighteen year old Toronto teenager, Sammy Yatim, was killed in a flurry of nine bullets in the early hours of Saturday July 27, 2013.
He was killed by Toronto police has he stood on an street car holding a small knife. He was shot nine times and tazered twice, shot first and tazered second.
Not much is known about Yatim’s state of mind which triggered the confrontation with Toronto police — but Torontonians woke up Saturday morning to the news that a teenager had been shot nine times.
You can watch the video of the incident here. If it wasn’t for the citizen journalists with their handy cellphone cameras, we might not know anything at all about Yatim’s death other than what the police PR machine would tell us.
With so many unknowns, and the family of Yatim apparently baffled by their son’s behaviour, news of an Ontario ombudsman’s investigation into the shooting is welcome news.
Obviously, someone being shot by the Toronto police nine times warrants some sort of investigation.
Yatim’s family released a statement stating they, “are heart-broken, confused and still in a state of shock. We are living a nightmare we can’t seem to wake up from.”
They immigrated from Syria with Sammy Yatim arriving in Toronto five years ago.
An earlier press conference by Toronto Police Chief, Bill Blair, didn’t provide much in the way of an explanation into police conduct or motivation for the shooting.
So on Friday August 9, 2013, André Marin (Ontario’s Ombudsman) confirmed through Twitter that he was launching a probe into the police’s actions that led to Yatim’s death.
He made the public announcement of the probe the day earlier, though the president of the Toronto Police Union, Mike McCormack, called the action a matter of “grandstanding.”
The probe will focus on such issues as government guidelines regarding the police’s de-escalation and use of force strategies as well as if officers received proper training.
At the press conference to announce the probe, Marin said, “It seems to be like Groundhog Day. Inquest after inquest, police shooting after police shooting.”
Yatim is not the first person to die from death-by-cop. Most of the families are still waiting for justice.
We also now know the name of the police officer who shot Yatim — Constable James Forcillo, a six-year veteran of the Toronto police. Forcillio has been suspended with pay.
New audio of the shooting has been released to the National Post: “It appears police gave Yatim one stark warning just seconds before they opened fire.
“‘If you take one step in this direction with that foot …[inaudible] die,’ a male police officer appears to tell the teenager. Five seconds later the first three shots ring out.”
Graffiti has sprung up around Toronto regarding the nine shots that killed Yatim.
Another solidarity demo to demand justice for Sammy Yatim has been called for tomorrow — uesday August 13, 2013, during the Toronto Police Services meeting which starts at 1:00 p.m. and runs until 3:00 p.m. at police headquarters at 40 College Street.
A march for Sammy Yatim will start at 12:00 pm noon at Yonge and Dundas Square and will march over to police HQ.
Photo by Krystalline Kraus
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