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Yatim shooting trial: Jury hears audio of faceoff with police

Never-before heard audio of Sammy Yatim, 18, in a face-off with several officers before being fatally shot on a TTC streetcar was heard in a courtroom Thursday.

WARNING: Video contains graphic imagery

CBC News ·

WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: Sammy Yatim interaction with Toronto Police on streetcar

9 years ago
Duration 1:21
WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: Sammy Yatim interaction with Toronto Police on streetcar
A jury that watched a silent video of a teen being fatally shot on a streetcar by a police officer heard the accompanying audio in Superior Court in Toronto for the first time Thursday, including one recording in which the accused yelled: "Drop the knife!" a total of 10 times.

Cameras on a  Dundas West streetcar captured the shooting just after midnight on July 26, 2013.  Const. James  Forcillo, 32, is facing charges of second-degree murder and attempted murder in the death of  SammyYatim, 18, who was shot eight times by  Forcillo.  

On Wednesday, the jury watched footage from all the cameras that show what transpired after the streetcar driver exits the vehicle.

On Thursday, the third day of the trial, audio from several sources was presented in court: one a recording captured by the streetcar's on-board microphone, a second from police radios and others from iPhone recordings taken by witnesses. The recordings were about five minutes in length.

In the TTC video, Yatim is heard shouting, "Get the f--k out of here, all of you!" as panicked passengers rush to the front of the streetcar.

The streetcar driver is heard asking Yatim if he has a phone and if he'd like to call someone. Yatim answers, "My dad."

The audio presented in court also captures the driver swearing and the dispatcher telling police there's "a knife on board."

By this time, a police call had gone out and Yatim is heard asking the driver, who is leaving the vehicle, "Where are you going? Go on. I'm not going to hold you as hostage."

Const. James  Forcillo and his partner were first on the scene, and  Forcillo is heard shouting, "Drop the knife! Drop the f--king knife!" 

Forcillo's partner, Const. Iris Fleckeisen, holstered her gun and asked Yatim, "Are you alone?" 

Yatim responded "no" more than once when asked to drop the knife and called the officer "a p---y" several times.

At one point, Forcillo, who was outside the streetcar, shouted, "If you take one f-----g step in this direction, I'll shoot you!" 

The video shows Yatim falling at the top step of the streetcar after the first three shots, his body twitching. Forcillo shoots the teen five more times. He was shot in the heart, his spine was severed and arm fractured. He was also shot in the abdomen and penis.

Jurors watched the shooting from every angle available, in black and white, colour, zoomed in 400 per cent, as well as in slow motion.

​After the shots are fired, another officer yells, "Drop the knife!" 

Sgt.  Dusan Dan  Pravica is seen arriving at the scene and telling  Yatim, who is lying on the ground having suffered multiple bullet wounds, to "drop the knife."

Pravica stepped forward and used a  Taser on  Yatim before entering the streetcar and kicking the knife out of the way.

The jury has been told that an autopsy found  Yatim had consumed marijuana and ecstasy the night he died. 

Read a re-cap of Thursday's proccedings below

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