Defence's crash reconstructionist to testify at trial of man accused of killing cop

The car that ran over a Toronto police officer nearly three years ago didn't have a dent in the hood or damage to the windshield as you would expect if a larger person was struck while standing and fell on the hood, a crash reconstructionist told jurors Monday.

Barry Raftery has been called to testify by the defence in the trial of Umar Zameer, who has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of Det. Const. Jeffrey Northrup.

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Northrup died on July 2, 2021, after he was run over by a vehicle in an underground parking garage at Toronto City Hall. Court has heard the officer was six feet and four inches tall and weighed more than 250 pounds.

On the stand Monday, Raftery said Zameer's BMW didn't show any of the damage he would expect to find if someone of Northrup's stature had fallen on the hood of the car.

“The officer was not struck while standing up,” he did not get hit by the front bumper and did not land on the hood, Raftery told the court.

Based on the physical evidence, the "only reasonable conclusion" is that Northrup was already on the ground when he was run over, the reconstructionist said.

He said a displacement of dust on fender supports a conclusion that the car made "glancing" contact with Northrup while reversing, knocking him down. There was no dent there either, which suggests the contact would not have made a sound, he said.

Crown prosecutors previously called a police crash reconstructionist, who told the court he concluded Northrup had been knocked to the ground by the car reversing before he was run over by it going forward.

However, the three officers who witnessed the incident testified Northrup was standing in the middle of the garage laneway with his hands up when he was run over.

Prosecutors allege Zameer caused Northrup’s death by making a series of manoeuvres with his car while officers were nearby, but the defence says it was an accident and neither Zameer nor his wife knew the pair – who were in plain clothes – were officers.

Court has heard Northrup and his partner were in the garage to investigate a stabbing.

Zameer, who was with his pregnant wife and their young son at the time, was not involved in the stabbing.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2024.