Judge says 'no evidence fully supports' murder case against Umar Zameer as jury starts deliberations
Jury deliberations have begun in the trial of a man accused of fatally running over a Toronto police officer, with the judge providing guidance to them, including that the Crown prosecutors have no evidence that "fully supports" their case.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy told jurors on Thursday that the police officers’ testimony that is the foundation of the case against Umar Zameer doesn`t match the physical evidence, and advised them to watch out for possible collusion that might misrepresent how Det-Const. Jeffrey Northrup died.
“There is no evidence that fully supports the Crown’s theory,” said Justice Molloy. “It is clear from the video that Officer Northrup was not standing upright in the laneway when he was knocked to the ground and run over, even though the three police witnesses all say that he was.”
“When three versions of the event are wrong, and wrong in the same way, you must also consider whether there has been collusion between those witnesses. All of the officers denied collusion,” she said.
Presented with a transcript of the judge’s remarks, criminal lawyer Joseph Neuberger, who is not connected to the case, said that hearing this guidance from an impartial judge tips the scales heavily in favour of the defence.
“Her honour’s particular comment about that portion of the evidence for the Crown is extremely damaging to the Crown’s case. And I mean, extremely damaging,” he said in an interview.
Zameer has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in Northrup's death. The officer, who was in plain clothes, died on July 2, 2021, after he was hit by a vehicle in an underground parking garage at Toronto City Hall.
Umar Zameer, the man accused of first-degree murder in the death of Toronto police officer Jeffrey Northrup, is seen leaving a courthouse in Toronto on April 18, 2024.
Prosecutors say Zameer made deliberate choices to drive dangerously while there were people nearby, killing the officer. They allege Zameer drove directly at Northrup, who they say was standing at the time.
The defence argued Zameer did not intend to kill anyone and behaved reasonably in the face of what he thought was an imminent threat to his family as two unknown people rushed up to his car and began banging on it.
Zameer testified he did not see anyone in front of his car as he was driving forward. Two crash reconstruction experts, including one called by the Crown, told the court they concluded Northrup fell after the car made glancing contact with him while reversing, and was on the ground when he was run over.
The expert called by the defence said Northrup would have been in the car's blind zone and not visible to Zameer when on the ground.
Molloy told jurors there are three pivotal issues in the trial: whether Zameer knew Northrup was a police officer acting in the course of his duties, whether Northrup was standing in front of Zameer's car when he was hit and whether Zameer knew he had run someone over.
Molloy told the jury there are four possible verdicts in the trial of Zameer: first-degree murder, the lesser included offences of second-degree murder or manslaughter, or not guilty of any offence. She said that in order to find Zameer guilty of murder, jurors must find beyond a reasonable doubt that he intentionally ran over Northrup.
Whether it is first- or second-degree murder depends on whether jurors believe beyond a reasonable doubt that Zameer knew Northrup was a police officer acting in the course of his duties.
Under law, the murder of a police officer acting in the course of their duties is automatically first-degree, so long as the person accused knew or was wilfully blind to that fact.
The jury began deliberations on Thursday at about 5:30 p.m.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
3 injured after man with knife enters Montreal-area mosque
Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.
Police arrest 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole Porsche and ran over its owner
Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.
Woman nearly shut out of mother's estate sues brother in B.C. Supreme Court – and wins
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
Teen arrested in New Brunswick after emergency alert; 5 people in custody
A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.
Kamala Harris tells Oprah any intruder to her home is 'getting shot'
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris on Thursday issued a warning to any potential home intruder: 'If somebody breaks in my house, they're getting shot.'
On the trail of the mystery woman whose company licensed exploding pagers
What Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, 49, the Italian-Hungarian CEO and owner of Hungary-based BAC Consulting, says she hasn't done is make the exploding pagers that killed 12 people and wounded more than 2,000 in Lebanon this week.
Woman shot by B.C. police was Colombian refugee with young daughter, advocate says
Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.
'We're still pushing hard': Search for missing Manitoba boy continues, RCMP find tracks
The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.
Video released of person of interest after cat is allegedly set on fire in Orillia, Ont.
Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.