It’s been nearly a decade since 18-year-old Sammy Yatim was fatally shot by police while having a mental health crisis on a Toronto streetcar.
On Monday, the Ministry of the Solicitor General announced a date for an inquest into Yatim’s death.
Coroner Dr. Jennifer Dmetrichuk said the inquest for Yatim will start on Nov. 14, last 10 days and hear from 11 witnesses.
The incident happened on a streetcar on Dundas Street near Trinity Bellwoods Park at around 12:10 a.m on July 17, 2013.
Yatim was said to have been acting erratically, advancing on other passengers, and exposing himself while brandishing a 12 cm knife on the streetcar.
Witnesses at the scene described seeing police surround the stopped streetcar with their guns drawn and Yatim who was inside to drop a knife. After evacuating the additional passengers and driver, police opened fire.
James Forcillo, one of the first officers to arrive on scene, shot at Yatim nine times, striking him eight times.
In August 2013, Forcillo was charged with second-degree murder, and in July 2014, with attempted murder. In Jan. 2016, he was found not guilty of second-degree murder, but guilty of attempted murder.
He was sentenced to six and a half years behind bars and was granted full parole in 2020.
The inquest will examine the circumstances surrounding Yatim's death.
With files from The Canadian Press.
