Skip to content

SIU investigator testifies at trial of Toronto cop charged in teen's shooting

An investigator with Ontario's police watchdog is testifying at the trial of a Toronto officer charged in the shooting death of a teen on an empty streetcar.

TORONTO — An investigator with Ontario's police watchdog is testifying at the trial of a Toronto officer charged in the shooting death of a teen on an empty streetcar.

Steve Adam says he was the first Special Investigations Unit investigator to arrive at the scene where Const. James Forcillo had fired nine bullets at 18-year-old Sammy Yatim.

Forcillo has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and attempted murder in the teen's death in July 2013.

Adam says he noted bullet casings near the front doors of the streetcar and quickly obtained video recordings from inside the streetcar for the SIU investigation.

Adam also says the SIU obtained the switchblade knife Yatim had taken out on the streetcar, causing panic -- but no injuries -- amongst passengers. That development eventually led to his standoff with police.

The jury at Forcillo's trial was shown the knife in court, with Adam noting its five-inch handle and 4.5-inch blade.

The trial has heard that Yatim refused to drop the knife when Forcillo repeatedly commanded him to do so before he fired two rounds of bullets.

Crown prosecutors have said they plan to prove that Forcillo's actions in the incident were neither necessary nor reasonable.

Forcillo's lawyer has said he will be arguing that the officer's actions were justified and carried out in self-defence.

The jury has been told that an autopsy found Yatim had consumed the drug ecstasy before he boarded the streetcar where he died.