Const. James Forcillo leaves court in Toronto on Monday, Jan. 25, 2016.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
A jury declared him guilty of attempted murder, but James Forcillo's fate could remain uncertain for another year, according to his lawyer.
The Toronto Police officer who shot and killed a knife-wielding teen aboard a TTC streetcar in 2013 remains free on bail while his lawyer launches a series of challenges he expects will keep Constable Forcillo from custody for months.
"I would expect that we would be done within the next 12 to 14 months," lawyer Peter Brauti said of various appeal attempts.
The Toronto Police Service formally suspended Constable Forcillo on Monday, but will continue to pay his salary. Under the Police Services Act, chiefs of police in Ontario gain the discretion to revoke pay only when an officer has been sentenced.
An attempted murder conviction involving a firearm carries a mandatory minimum sentence of four years in prison. Mr. Brauti has already requested a stay of proceedings that would pre-empt a formal conviction. He will argue that the verdict should be expunged on the grounds that a conviction would constitute an "abuse of process" because Constable Forcillo was following his police training the night he shot Mr. Yatim eight times.
Two more challenges are in the works should the stay attempt fail: a constitutional challenge of the four-year mandatory minimum law and more straightforward appeal of the guilty verdict.
Mr. Brauti has said that the mandatory minimum amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. The Supreme Court of Canada took on a similar case in 2008, upholding a four-year sentence for RCMP officer Michael Ferguson, who was convicted of manslaughter.
A member of the force for three and a half years, Constable Forcillo was acquitted of a more serious charge of second-degree murder. Several other legal hurdles remain. Constable Forcillo could face disciplinary charges under the Police Services Act, and family members of Sammy Yatim, the young man killed on the streetcar that July night, have filed two lawsuits against the police force claiming a combined $15-million in damages.
On Tuesday, police union president Mike McCormack referred to Constable Forcillo as a "quiet homebody" who was stunned by the verdict.
"This person's life is in the balance," he said. "It's a tragic situation all around. There is no happy ending. There is no good outcome. There is no great story. He realizes that there's a dead kid and his life and family are blown apart. He's awaiting the next step."
Patrick White