Umar Zameer not guilty of Toronto cop's death in City Hall parking lot
Author of the article:Michele Mandel
Published Apr 21, 2024 • Last updated 14 hours ago • 4 minute read
Umar Zameer has been found not guilty on all counts in the tragic 2021 death of Toronto Police Det. Const. Jeffrey Northrup.
Umar Zameer has been found not guilty on all counts in the tragic 2021 death of Toronto Police Det. Const. Jeffrey Northrup.
It was the only decision, the correct decision — an acquittal for Umar Zameer on all counts in the death of Toronto Police Det.-Const. Jeff Northrup.
The trial judge said as much when the jury returned with their dramatic “not guilty” verdict on all charges just after noon on Sunday. “Mr. Zameer, you’re free to go, sir,” Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy told him. “You have our deepest apologies for what you have been through.”
It’s not a usual comment by a judge — but it just emphasizes how clear it was that this could have been a terrible miscarriage of justice.
An outburst of sobs from Zameer and his family erupted in the downtown courtroom now that this lengthy ordeal is finally over for the accountant and father of three.
But sadly, there are no winners in this trial. Zameer missed the birth of his second child while in custody; his family in Pakistan had to pledge their entire life savings to gain his controversial release. He’s spent almost three agonizing years under the most serious jeopardy available in the Criminal Code, facing the possibility that he would spend the rest of his life in jail and not be able to see his children grow up.
Meanwhile, the devastated family of the officer killed in the line of duty must deal with a tragic and senseless death ruled an accident and not a crime.
“I’m very disappointed in today’s outcome,” Northrup’s widow, Margaret, told reporters in a brief statement. “From day one, all I’ve wanted is accountability. We miss Jeff every day. However, we continue on with him in our hearts, never to be forgotten. A hero in life, not in death.”
Still pale and shaken by the events of the day, Zameer also faced reporters outside the downtown courthouse after the verdict. Once again, he repeated that he was sorry and never meant for any of this to happen. He thanked his lawyers, Nader Hasan and Alexandra Heine, for standing by his side from the start.
Then the Pakistani-born immigrant from Malaysia thanked Canada.
“I thought I and Aaida made a wrong decision when we thought we should go to Canada, that it’s a better place for our kids,” he said. “But I think today I see that Canada didn’t let injustice happen. So I thank Canada. Thank you very much.”
Zameer and his wife, Aaida, immigrated in January 2019 on the federal government’s Skilled Worker Program. They had come down to Nathan Phillips Square that night to celebrate Canada Day with their two-year-old son, and while walking downtown, they’d seen a shirtless man who’d been stabbed in the abdomen and a heavy police presence. So by midnight, with a cranky toddler and the sketchy situation, they were anxious to get home to Woodbridge.
They were in their BMW in the nearly deserted garage beneath City Hall and after Aaida, who was eight-months-pregnant, had put their son in his car seat, they were preparing to leave when they said two strangers rushed towards them, motioning for them to stop and then began banging on their windows.
Zameer maintained they never identified themselves as police.
When a dark minivan with tinted windows suddenly blocked their path forward, Zameer fairly panicked and thought they were being ambushed by a band of criminals. Just a week earlier, another Muslim family had been targeted in London, Ont., and four members killed.
Who wouldn’t react in fear?
Three police witnesses for the prosecution told the jury Northrup had his hands in front of him, bracing for impact, as Zameer purposely ran him down.
But two accident reconstructionists — including one from the Crown — completely disagreed. They said the evidence at the scene — including the grainy parking garage video — showed Northrup hadn’t been hit head-on, but had been sideswiped as Zameer quickly reversed out of the parking spot and then accelerated toward the exit.
Not knowing the officer had fallen in the path of his car.
Did the cops lie? Did the three eyewitnesses collude and get their stories to mesh? Or were their memories skewed because of the trauma of watching their colleague being run over before their eyes.
We may never know. But what is clear is that even as far back as September 2021, just two months after the incident, then-Superior Court Justice Jill Copeland released Zameer on bail because she found the Crown’s case for murder to be “weak.” During the trial, Molloy made it clear that she felt the same way.
“It should never have made it to trial,” insisted Hasan. “Why it went to trial is a question you’ll have to ask the Crown attorney’s office.”
For his part, Crown attorney Michael Cantlon issued a brief statement saying Northrup’s death “warranted a trial to determine accountability.”
Whether it was pressure from politicians or the police service, in the end, the murder trial only served to compound the pain for those who loved and admired the fallen officer.
Northrup was a father of three, a cop beloved by his colleagues who served our city with honour for 31 years. His death was a horrible accident in the line of duty. It should have been mourned as such.
But by convincing his poor family that he was intentionally murdered, and then handing them the crushing disappointment when that charge could not be sustained, they’re forced to mourn him anew.
mmandel@postmedia.com
Umar Zameer has been found not guilty on all counts in the tragic 2021 death of Toronto Police Det.-Const. Jeffrey Northrup.
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