Laws take the same place that rules take for a public structure. They are in effect to establish rules of conduct, provide a system of enforcement, protect rights and freedoms, protect society from harm, and to resolve disputes. They help control scenarios that cannot be controlled easily by police officers. Everywhere around the world, police officers are getting sent to trial and possibly life sentence in prison for failure to act within their job description. In this case, Constable James Forcillo; a former member of the Toronto Police Department has been charged with attempted murder for an incident that occurred on July 27th, 2013. While in the line of duty Constable James Forcillo shot and killed an 18 year old by the name of Sammy Yatim
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Such being that criminal law is in the constitution to protect individuals from harm. In this case that occurred on July 27th, 2013 Constable James Forcillo may have put individuals on the streetcar into harm. Many videos on the internet show the security camera footage caught by the streetcar at the time of the incident (CBC News). This video showed the interaction between Forcillo and Yatim happened right at the entrance of the streetcar where it had the possibility of harming a civilian inside the streetcar or outside in the city of Toronto. This argument about Constitutional Division of Power is important when talking about the safety and concerns of people living in Toronto at the moment. When this occurred it caused a large riot around the streetcar on Dundas Street and many people were outraged (CBC News). Constable James Forcillo was not acting within the provincial jurisdiction, as he took the law into his own hands, and dealt with a criminal, something that is within the federal powers. As one can see, there is a noticeable clash of the division of powers, as both the federal and provincial ones were not acted …show more content…
This should stand out to some people because when a police officer abuses their own source of defense, which is when the public will know that something is wrong (Hasham). In this case, when Forcillo shot the first volley of shots it was okay, but when he waited five and-a-half seconds later to shoot the second volley that consisted of six bullets, that was when the charges started to be laid. Forcillo abused his authority as a law enforcer, which sends mixed messages to society about what is deemed right and wrong. This in turn changes the values of the law as now the citizens view police officers as criminals, rather than heroes, as they were always known as previously. This argument is important to this case involving Forcillo and Yatim because it identifies that police officers can be charged criminally, even though it may seem like there was no harm intended. In the end, the armed Forcillo chose to use his weapon to cause violence rather than protection. As a result of this tragic event, the law’s values have been altered to portray society’s
Such being that criminal law is in the constitution to protect individuals from harm. In this case that occurred on July 27th, 2013 Constable James Forcillo may have put individuals on the streetcar into harm. Many videos on the internet show the security camera footage caught by the streetcar at the time of the incident (CBC News). This video showed the interaction between Forcillo and Yatim happened right at the entrance of the streetcar where it had the possibility of harming a civilian inside the streetcar or outside in the city of Toronto. This argument about Constitutional Division of Power is important when talking about the safety and concerns of people living in Toronto at the moment. When this occurred it caused a large riot around the streetcar on Dundas Street and many people were outraged (CBC News). Constable James Forcillo was not acting within the provincial jurisdiction, as he took the law into his own hands, and dealt with a criminal, something that is within the federal powers. As one can see, there is a noticeable clash of the division of powers, as both the federal and provincial ones were not acted …show more content…
This should stand out to some people because when a police officer abuses their own source of defense, which is when the public will know that something is wrong (Hasham). In this case, when Forcillo shot the first volley of shots it was okay, but when he waited five and-a-half seconds later to shoot the second volley that consisted of six bullets, that was when the charges started to be laid. Forcillo abused his authority as a law enforcer, which sends mixed messages to society about what is deemed right and wrong. This in turn changes the values of the law as now the citizens view police officers as criminals, rather than heroes, as they were always known as previously. This argument is important to this case involving Forcillo and Yatim because it identifies that police officers can be charged criminally, even though it may seem like there was no harm intended. In the end, the armed Forcillo chose to use his weapon to cause violence rather than protection. As a result of this tragic event, the law’s values have been altered to portray society’s