There is now public outrage after a video has surfaced, showing a Toronto cop firing fatal gunshots at a man who was holding a knife on a streetcar.
The policeman noticed the victim, 18-year-old Sammy Yatim holding a knife in his hand and that was when he yelled “Drop your knife!” After that, the cop fired three shots. Not only that, but after a short pause, he then fired six more.
Protestors, including some members of Yatim’s family, have been rallying and calling for justice to be brought to the cop.
Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair stated after he saw the video that he understood exactly why the public is so upset by this.
“I recognize there is a need for answers” he stated.
Moreover, former Toronto police detective Mark Mendelson declared that the fact that a video exists is a good thing.
“If you look at it on its face value at this point, it’s not hard to come to the conclusion that excessive force was used,” Mendelson said.
Jim Yatim, the uncle of the victim also added:
“A tragedy has happened, and there is no undoing of what has occurred, the kid is dead. Shot down in a senseless act of one-upmanship, a trigger happy cop, a loud mouthed teen, and boom,” Jim Yatim wrote in an email to The Associated Press.
“My family and I have paid the ultimate price.”
Our prayers go out Yatim’s family.
SOURCE: HuffPost
