Zameer’s lawyers call for public inquiry into Toronto police conduct and OPP probe
Written by The Canadian Press on March 19, 2026
TORONTO — Lawyers for Umar Zameer are calling for a public inquiry into the actions of three Toronto police officers involved in his case — and the Ontario Provincial Police investigation that cleared those officers of wrongdoing.
Defence lawyer Nader Hasan says an inquiry is necessary to restore public faith in the process after the release of the OPP report earlier this week.
Zameer was acquitted two years ago in the death of Det. Const. Jeffrey Northrup, a plainclothes officer who was fatally run over in an underground parking garage at Toronto City Hall in July 2021.
Toronto police requested the investigation after the presiding judge suggested the three officers who were central witnesses in Crown’s case — Det. Lisa Forbes, Det. Const. Antonio Correa and Det. Const. Scharnil Pais — lied and colluded.
The OPP report released Tuesday says there is no evidence to support the belief that the officers lied or colluded, a conclusion based in part on the OPP’s own reconstruction and analysis of the crash, which contradicts the testimony of two experts as well as security video.
Hasan denounced the report when it was released, then laid out a more detailed rebuttal Thursday, noting the OPP’s reconstruction of the crash is the same theory that prosecutors unsuccessfully pitched to the jury.
“This is not a fresh investigation. It’s advocacy on the part of the police dressed up as a fresh investigation,” he said in a news conference Thursday.
The defence lawyer said the public needs to see how the OPP reconstructionist was selected and “what kind of influences were exerted on this expert.”
Police must release the OPP reconstructionist’s report, not just its conclusions, as well as all communications between OPP, Toronto police and the police union regarding the investigation, Hasan said in calling for an inquiry.
A spokesperson for the premier’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the possibility of an inquiry.
The report was hailed as vindication Tuesday by police Chief Myron Demkiw and the president of the police union, Clayton Campbell.
Campbell urged Ontario Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy to apologize to the officers, a request that was later amplified by Premier Doug Ford as he reiterated his love for police.
Legal observers and civil liberties advocates have condemned the move as an attack on the independence of the judiciary.
“Judicial independence is a cornerstone of our constitutional democracy,” Adam Weisberg, president of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, said in a statement.
“Judges cannot and should not change or apologize for their decisions based on requests from other branches of government or from witnesses in a case.”
Shakir Rahim, director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association’s criminal justice program, said the calls for an apology are “wholly unacceptable.”
“No impropriety by the judge has been alleged or occurred. It is not the role of an elected official to quarterback a trial or the judiciary,” he said in a statement.
In a statement issued after Hasan’s news conference Thursday, Demkiw said the OPP conducted a “thorough, independent and professional” investigation that was done “transparently.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 19, 2026.
Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press