The jury is deliberating in the trial of PC James Forcillo and the court has released information which was not heard by the jury. Among these things were Forcillo’s lawyers to show that Sammy Yatim committed “suicide by cop” on the night he died. Lawyer Peter Brauti hoped to argue that Yatim was depressed, using drugs and cared very little about his life when he pulled a knife on a streetcar, sparking a panicked exodus. Brauti was denied this opportunity. He was also unable to introduce Yatim’s cell phone searches looking for easy way to commit suicide. Also not heard by the jury: Evidence that Sammy Yatim was on bad terms with his father, having been “kicked out:” of the family home. Among other things, Brauti asked the court to permit him to tell the jury that Yatim didn’t comply with police orders to drop his knife because he didn’t care about his own life and was prepared to act in a way that could cause police to take actions resulting in his death.
