Sammy Yatim killing: Toronto police officer pleads not guilty
The Toronto police officer charged in the 2013 fatal shooting of 18-year-old Sammy Yatim on a TTC streetcar has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and attempted murder.
Const. James Forcillo's trial is scheduled to begin in Toronto on Oct. 13. He entered not guilty pleas to the two charges on Wednesday in Superior Court and jury selection is now taking place.
Yatim was shot while standing on an empty streetcar on Dundas Street West.
Cellphone footage of the incident was widely circulated after his death and caused public outrage. Nine shots can be heard on those videos, following shouts for Yatim to drop a knife. The final six shots appear to come after the teen had already fallen to the floor of the empty streetcar.
Forcillo was suspended with pay for seven months following the shooting of Yatim. He returned to work with the service's Crime Stoppers unit in April 2014.
The trial is expected to last eight weeks, and Forcillo's lawyer Peter Brauti says his client is eager for it to start so he can tell his side of the story.
There are approximately 350 people in the jury pool. Judge Edward Then said Wednesday that the selected jurors must "approach the trial with an open mind."
