Lawyers for Umar Zameer are calling for a public inquiry into the conduct of three police officers, while slamming the public comments of Toronto’s police chief and Premier Doug Ford in relation to the first-degree murder trial in the death of Det-Const. Jeffrey Northrup.
Nader Hasan wants the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and Toronto Police Service (TPS) to release the full collision report they put together for the report that was released on Tuesday; that all communication between the OPP, TPS and Toronto Police Association (TPA) about the investigation be disclosed; and that a public inquiry be held into the conduct of TPS officers in the case.
“We expected the worst from a police investigation into other police. These types of reviews invariably range from the inadequate to outright whitewashing,” said Hasan. “We need to now set the record straight about this so-called OPP report that was released this week. We are here today because we are witnessing a chilling moment in the history of the Canadian justice system.”
A spokesperson for the premier’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the possibility of an inquiry, while OPP Commissioner, Thomas Carrique, released a lengthy statement on Thursday night, defending the integrity of the OPP probe.
Northrup, a plainclothes officer, was fatally run over by a vehicle in an underground parking garage at Toronto City Hall in July 2021. Zameer was acquitted two years ago.
During her final instructions to the jury, Ontario Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy told them to consider the possibility that three officers who served as the prosecution’s key witnesses had colluded.
Toronto police asked the OPP to conduct an independent review in light of the judge’s “adverse comments.”
The report found no evidence of collusion among Sgt. Lisa Forbes (then a detective constable), Det-Const. Antonio Correa and Det-Const. Scharnil Pais at the murder trial.
The report appears to support the testimony of the three police officers, and argues that key evidence had been overlooked by both the Toronto police’s own reconstructionist and the defence’s expert witness. The OPP’s expert concluded that Northup was standing upright when the vehicle moved forward and not on the ground, as both expert witnesses had testified in court.
Hasan noted the OPP’s reconstruction of the crash is the same theory that prosecutors unsuccessfully pitched to the jury.
“As anyone with an ounce of common sense would agree, if a car smacks head-on into a 6-foot-4, 300-pound person, there would be physical evidence to the car. There would be damage. There would be physical evidence of the impact. Both experts, all witnesses at the trial, agreed that there was no such evidence,” explained Hasan.
In a statement to CityNews, the Criminal Lawyers’ Association reiterated that the OPP’s theory presented in the report has not been tested at trial, adding, “These statements are unprecedented and an inappropriate attack on judicial independence. These comments are an attempt to subvert the justice system.”
CityNews reached out to the defence’s expert engineering witness, who says he stands by his report.
“If a collision reconstruction report is to be produced, I will be interested in having an opportunity to review it. I will be interested in seeing how the O.P.P. Officer explains the physical evidence (and the lack of physical evidence),” said Barry Raftery.
Hasan went into painstaking detail on Thursday to point out that there is no new evidence in the OPP report, which exonerated the three police officers.
“It is scandalous that these sister police agencies are now trying to pass this off as either an independent investigation or one that uncovered new evidence,” he said.
“It’s disheartening. We deserve better.”
Police Chief Myron Demkiw hailed the report as vindication of his officers, while the TPA president and Premier Doug Ford have since called on Justice Molloy to publicly apologize to the three officers.
Hasan called comments by Demkiw and the premier an “unprecedented attack” against the judiciary and the administration of justice.
“Two years later, the chief of police of the force whose members tried to railroad an innocent man has come forward and said everybody else got it wrong,” said Hasan.
“Worse yet, the premier who loudly denounced Mr. Zameer being granted bail five years ago, has shoved his oar in again to say that the trial judge ought to apologize. If this sort of Trumpian interference with the court process happened in another country, we would be laughing at the absurdity of it all.”
Hasan also noted the OPP’s lack of public response following the release of such a detailed report.
“It is very unusual to publish such a detailed report, quick with pictures, to explain a decision on why not to lay criminal charges. It’s very unusual… it is a conspicuous absence.”
Chief Demkiw said that the OPP conducted a “thorough, independent and professional” investigation that was done “transparently.”
“The court process has concluded. This investigation does not change that, nor was it intended to. It addressed a separate and important question about the conduct of our officers — and that question has now been answered,” Demkiw said in a statement issued after Hasan’s news conference.
When asked during an unrelated announcement later in the day if he would support a public inquiry, Chief Demkiw said, “It’s not a decision for me to make.”
Hasan would not say if Zameer is considering a civil lawsuit against the police force.
“He knew that by suing, it would keep this case in the public eye longer, and he wanted those involved to be able to move on,” he explained.
“He was also so touched by the outpouring of sympathy and support from Canadians from coast-to-coast-to-coast back in April 2024, that he said ‘that’s my blessing, I’m going to forgive and forget and let people try to move on.’ And then they give him this.”
With files from Patricia D’Cunha and Shauna Hunt