It has been over 18 months since Umar Zameer was acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, yet the investigation into whether three of the officer’s colleagues coordinated their testimony during the trial remains unresolved.
In April 2024, a jury found Zameer not guilty in the death of Det. Const. Jeffrey Northrup, a plain-clothes officer struck and killed by Zameer’s vehicle in a city hall parking garage in 2021. Zameer said Northrup and his partner never identified themselves as police before banging on his car, leaving him to believe his family was in danger as he tried to escape.
During the trial, Justice Anne Molloy questioned whether police officers Lisa Forbes, Antonio Correa and Scharnil Pais had coordinated their testimony prior to taking the stand. Video evidence showed Northrup was on the ground when he was fatally struck, contradicting all three officers’ claims he was standing with his hands up. Justice Molloy told the jury to consider the possibility of collusion.
Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw soon after asked the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) to review the constables’ conduct.
Neither the OPP nor the professional standards unit of the Toronto Police Service have released any findings. OPP spokesperson Gosia Puzio told The Grind the investigation is ongoing and they “cannot speculate on how long the investigation will take.” Puzio added that the OPP “do not have internal standard timelines for criminal investigations as each case varies in its complexity.”
The Law Enforcement Complaints Agency, which oversees public complaints about police misconduct in Ontario, says it endeavours to complete investigations within 120 days (four months).
Toronto police did not respond to The Grind’s request for comment.
This article appeared in the 2025 Dec – 2026 Jan issue.
