TORONTO—A Toronto police officer is facing an additional charge in relation to the shooting death of a teenager on a streetcar last summer, as his lawyers hope for a trial late next year.
Const. James Forcillo already faces a second-degree murder charge in the death of 18-year-old Sammy Yatim.
Now the Crown has filed a new indictment and Forcillo has also been charged with attempted murder “by shooting (Yatim) with a firearm and thereby wounding him.”
The reasons for the additional charge may be related to evidence from the preliminary inquiry, which is covered by a publication ban.
One of Forcillo’s lawyers, Lawrence Gridin, appeared in court Wednesday on Forcillo’s behalf and set Sept. 22 as a date for a judicial pre-trial, which is a closed case conference between lawyers and the judge.
Yatim was shot and killed on an empty streetcar on July 27, 2013—an incident captured on surveillance and cellphone video on which nine shots can be heard following shouted commands to drop a knife.
Gridin said he is hoping to set a trial date for as soon as possible, but it likely won’t take place until the fall of 2015 at the earliest.
