Crown accuses police of misleading jury and ‘circling wagons’ to back Sammy Yatim’s killer

Milan Rupic wraps up Crown’s summation Friday by denouncing officers’ 'shameless' and 'deliberate false' testimony in defence of constable who shot and killed Sammy Yatim.

The murder trial, with Const. James Forcillo in the prosecution crosshairs, has been about one cop, one gun, one dead teenager.

But quite a few police officers have taken the witness stand in the University Ave. courtroom. Several came to aid and abet a colleague — a fellow member of the badge tribe, Crown Attorney Milan Rupic told jurors Friday. Even if that meant prevaricating, contriving and falsifying under oath.

That tells a bigger story about the challenge of getting to the truth of the thing when an officer stands accused of a crime. Forcillo, 32, has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault in the July 2013 shooting of knife-wielding 18-year-old Sammy Yatim aboard an empty Dundas streetcar.

“When push comes to shove, one colleague will lie or distort facts in aid of a co-worker,” Rupic said as he wound down his closing address to the jury. “What you saw were members of the police community circling the wagons.”  (more...)

Crown accuses police of misleading jury and ‘circling wagons’ to back Sammy Yatim’s killer