The accusations were stark: that Toronto police officers deliberately misled the court during the trial of Umar Zameer, the man accused in the death of Detective-Constable Jeffrey Northrup. A judge had even instructed the jury to consider the possibility of collusion among the witnesses. But a recently completed investigation paints a dramatically different picture.
An independent review, led by the Ontario Provincial Police, has found no evidence to support claims that the officers – Detective Constables Lisa Forbes, Scharnil Pais, and Tony Correa – fabricated their testimony. The 50-page report meticulously examined the allegations of obstruction of justice, concluding they were not rooted in the actual evidence presented at trial.
The case began in the early hours of July 2, 2021, when Detective-Constable Northrup and his colleagues responded to a stabbing near Toronto City Hall. While investigating, Northrup attempted to stop a vehicle – a BMW driven by Zameer with his wife and young child inside – as it left an underground parking garage. Zameer, believing he wasn’t being stopped by police, attempted to drive away, tragically striking and fatally injuring Northrup.
The core of the controversy stemmed from discrepancies between the officers’ accounts of Northrup’s position when he was hit and the findings of Toronto Police Service collision reconstructionists. Justice Molloy pointed out that all three officers described Northrup standing upright when struck, a detail that raised concerns about the consistency of their statements.
However, the OPP re-investigation challenged the initial reconstruction analysis, asserting that it failed to account for the BMW’s collision mitigation technology. Their findings, supported by physical evidence like handprints and contact marks, aligned with the officers’ testimony: Northrup was standing near the front of the vehicle when it accelerated forward, striking and running him over.
Investigators also scrutinized the timeline surrounding the officers’ initial statements, seeking evidence of a coordinated effort to align their stories. The report details how Correa and Pais spent hours in a busy hospital waiting room and a bustling police division, surrounded by civilians and colleagues – conditions that would have made private collaboration extremely difficult, if not impossible.
Both officers were interviewed separately by homicide investigators, and witnesses confirmed they were never left alone during the crucial hours following the incident. The OPP concluded that the similarities in their accounts were not indicative of deception, but rather a shared observation of the same tragic event.
The report firmly states that there is “no tangible or witness evidence supporting reasonable grounds to believe” the officers lied or colluded. The investigation, initiated at the request of Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw, effectively closes a chapter marked by serious allegations and public scrutiny.
