At the risk of seeming a tad obsessed about James Forcillo, I feel compelled to do yet another post on him and Sammy Yatim, the troubled teen he recklessly and needlessly gunned down three years ago. We all know there is a great deal of injustice in th…
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Politics and its Discontents: A Skating Party For Forcillo
What many of us feared has happened. James Forcillo has been granted bail:Justice Eileen Gillese’s decision was released to counsel by email this morning.“The Appellant’s release, pending the determination of his appeal, poses no risk to the publ…
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Sammy Yatim and the Day of Justice
It's been three years and one day since 18-year-old Sammy Yatim was shot to death on a Toronto streetcar by police officer James Forcillo.But yesterday his killer was finally sentenced.A Toronto police officer who gunned down a troubled teen on an…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Forcillo Is Sentenced, But Is It Justice?
Toronto police officer James Forcillo, who gunned down Sammy Yatim three years ago, has been given six years for his despicable act. Is it justice? I don’t know.Recommend this Post
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Killing of Sammy Yatim: Should Another Cop Be Charged?
It's been almost a week since the Toronto police officer James Forcillo was found guilty of the attempted murder of 18-year-old Sammy Yatim. Even though he killed him, and it was murder.And now there are calls for another police officer to be ch…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: To Serve And Protect Who?
Were I so inclined, I could probably devote this blog solely to police misconduct, so extensive does it seem. Perhaps it is due to the Forcillo conviction for the attempted murder of the late Sammy Yatim that we are more sensitive to the issue, but eac…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: More On James Forcillo
H/t Toronto StarIn response to yesterday’s post, both the Salamander and the Mound of Sound offered some interesting commentary. The Salamander has experience in dealing with troubled and armed youth, as you will see, and The Mound has had careers both…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Not A Moment Of Humility Or Uncertainty
I have avoided writing about the semi-acquital of Sammy Yatim’s killer, Officer James Forcillo, partly because it sickens me when miscarriages of justice occur. Adding insult to injury is his lawyer’s attempt to get his conviction for attempted murder …
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Police Murder of Sammy Yatim: The Shocking Verdict
It's one of the most bizarre verdicts I've ever seen. A Toronto police officer is found guilty of attempted murder for shooting a troubled teenager on a streetcar.But not guilty of murder.Even though he killed him.Read more »
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Remembering Sammy Yatim
To listen to James Forcillo, the Toronto police officer who shot Sammy Yatim eight times as the knife-wielding teen stood inside an empty streetcar, he had no choice but to kill him:”If I had done nothing, he would have stabbed me,” Const. James Forcil…
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Police Officer Charged in the Killing of Sammy Yatim
It was one of the most sickening things I have ever witnessed, the police execution of Sammy Yatim.A teenager riddled with bullets on a streetcar for no sane reason. And then tasered as he lay there bleeding.It was brutal, it was senseless, it was madness.So I couldn't be happier about
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Sammy Yatim’s Accused Killer Back On The Job
While the presumption of innocence is fundamental to our justice system, common sense and public sensibilities are always unspoken elements of the equation. This is clearly seen, for example, in jury selection, a good part of which is designed to ferret out and exclude from participation those with prejudgments that
Continue readingThe Ranting Canadian: "Ah yeah, sure I know. It’s a free country. You know you…
“Ah yeah, sure I know. It’s a free country. You know you got the right. But I got a badge, what do you got?” That line from West Side Story sums up the attitude of many – if not most – cops, especially in Toronto. They are confident that their
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