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In Toronto, the Crown at the trial of an individual accused of the premeditated murder of a police officer maintains that the accused deliberately grabbed him after refusing to comply to an order to stop. Jeffrey Northrup was killed on the night of July 1 to 2, 2021. Umar Zameer's defense assures that he was scared because he believed someone wanted him. #x27;attack him because of his religion.
In its indictment, the Crown asserted that this The case is entirely down to the choice of the accused, who decided to flee from a crime scene rather than stop as the police asked him to do.
This choice led to the death of a police officer on duty, explained the prosecutor, Michael Cantlon, suggesting that no one disputes the fact that the accused was driving the car in question that night .
Trial of Umar Zameer, accused of killing a police officer, begins
The prosecutor explained that a police operation was underway in the city center that night after a stabbing attack.
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A bloodied individual hit in the abdomen had was seen near the entrance to the underground garage of City Hall.
Mr. Cantlon specified that agent Jeffrey Northrup and his teammate, Lisa Forbes, were dressed in civilian clothes, that they were searching on foot and that they were assisted by two other police officers in an unmarked police car with tinted windows.
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From left to right: Umar Zameer, his lawyer Nader Hasan, prosecutor Michael Cantlon (standing), Judge Ann Molloy, prosecutor Karen Simone and the victim's wife, Margaret Northrup.
He added that Officer Northrup and his teammate saw Umar Zameer with his eight-month pregnant wife and their 2-year-old son. They were putting a stroller in the trunk of their car, he said.
The prosecutor assured that the two agents, although dressed in civilian clothes, duly identified themselves as such and that they wore their police badge clearly visible around their necks.
< p class="StyledBodyHtmlParagraph-sc-48221190-4 hnvfyV">Me Cantlon, however, affirmed that the accused rushed at them but that the police vehicle blocked his path.
By reversing the vehicle before moving forward, Officer Northrup was caught during the maneuver, he said, telling the jury that videos will prove what was happening. he is moving forward, although the images are not excellent.
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Crown prosecutor Michael Cantlon, standing, delivering his closing argument to the jury.
The question is not to know who killed Officer Northrup but to understand why the accused acted in this way when the police arrived. questioned, he concluded, arguing that the accused did not even stop after running over the victim.
In his plea, the defense explained that his client was in the wrong place at the wrong time and that Officer Northrup's death was a tragic accident and not a murder, as the Crown suggests.
Lawyer Nader Hasan noted that his client is an immigrant from Malaysia, who arrived in Canada in 2019.
He added that Umar Zameer is an accountant, that his family lives in Woodbridge, north of Toronto, and that he had decided to go downtown to maybe see fireworks on the occasion of Canada Day.
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Umar Zameer (left with his lawyer, Nader Hasan) was released on $335,000 bail.
They arrived around 10:30 p.m. and Umar parked his vehicle in the garage under Nathan Phillips Square, a decision that must have been fateful, he said.
Me Hasan noted that the Zameer family walked between Nathan Phillips Square and Dundas Square, stopping to take photos before return to city hall to meet friends.
The lawyer confirmed that the family did come across a shirtless man on the way home who seemed injured.
It was at that moment that their destiny would cross that of police officers who were investigating a knife attack, he continued.
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The judge Anne Molloy of the Ontario Superior Court listens attentively to the defense's argument on the first day of the trial of Umar Zameer on March 20, 2024 in Toronto.
Ms. Hasan said the family ultimately decided to go home and return to the parking lot.
The lawyer took care to point out that the first two police officers who approached him on foot in the underground parking lot were not wearing uniforms and that they knocked on the customer's vehicle.
The Crown says both officers identified themselves as police, but that will be up to you to decide or not, he told the 14 jurors.
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The judge Molloy giving his instructions to the jury the day before the trial, March 19, 2024.
Me Hasan said that his client was afraid and that he started his car to escape before the unmarked police car blocked his access to the exit. He also didn't know it was a police vehicle, he said.
The lawyer explained that his client then reversed, clipping Officer Northrup, who fell in front of his car. He believed they were criminals trying to attack them, he said.
Me Hasan assured that his client believed that the life of his family was in danger after the attack which left four dead within a Muslim family a month earlier in London.
His wife, who also wore a headscarf, was pregnant and their child was crying in the back seat, a- he added.
The lawyer pointed out that his client then moved his vehicle forward rolling, unknowingly, on the victim's body. It was a horrible and tragic accident, he continued.
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Toronto Police Detective Adam Taylor describes on screen the surveillance camera videos police seized after Officer Northrup's death. We see the Zameer family on the night of July 1, 2021.
Me Hasan told the jury that his client was going testify in this trial, although he is not required to do so, since the burden of proof lies with the Crown.
He is the only one who can explain to you what went through his mind that night, he concluded by warning the jurors that some Crown witnesses were going to lie in their statements.
Think about it: why would a father kill a police officer while he was with his wife and their son? he asked.
The Crown's first witness was Constable Adam Taylor, who described videos from various cameras to the court surveillance, which were projected on large screens.
In one of them, we could see the black car of ;#x27;Umar Zameer entering the underground garage of City Hall.
Another video showed the defendant and his eight-month pregnant wife walking pushing their two-year-old son's stroller.
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Prosecutor Karen Simone questions the Crown's first witness, Toronto Police Detective Adam Taylor.
A close-up of the family in the elevator going down to the City Hall garage showed his wife wearing a white hijab.
A video from City Hall also showed that Officer Northrup was dressed in Bermuda shorts and #x27 ;a short-sleeved shirt and that he was wearing a cap.
Her teammate, Agent Forbes, was wearing very short denim shorts and a cotton sweater dark fleece.
In his cross-examination, Mr. Hasan made Detective Taylor say that the badges of the Northrup agents and Forbes were not visible as they exited Nathan Phillips Place into the parking lot.
The trial will continue tomorrow with testimony from other police officers.
Teilor Stone has been a reporter on the news desk since 2013. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining Thesaxon , Teilor Stone worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my teilor@nizhtimes.com 1-800-268-7116
