“An Ontario Provincial Police investigation into the conduct of three Toronto police officers who testified at the first-degree murder trial of Umar Zameer has “exonerated” the officers against allegations they lied about the death of their colleague, Const. Jeffrey Northrup.
“They’ve been vindicated,” Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw said at a news conference on Tuesday.
In sum, the OPP’s report, released Tuesday, picks apart the work of a Toronto police reconstructist and re-examines the evidence and testimony presented at trial to conclude there is no evidence that Det. Consts. Lisa Forbes, Antonio Correa and Scharnil Pais lied.
The finding contradicts the conclusions of Zameer’s trial judge, Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy, who made explosive allegations of dishonesty and collusion among the three officers.
Even before its release, doubt was cast on the validity of one police service investigating another by Zameer’s criminal defence lawyer, Nader Hasan, who said in a statement that alleged police misconduct required a “truly independent public review.”
