Toronto police ask OPP for independent review after Zameer trial
CBC
Toronto's police chief has asked the Ontario Provincial Police to conduct an independent review after a Superior Court judge's comments during the trial of Umar Zameer.
A statement from the Office of the Chief says Myron Demkiw on Monday asked for a review into officer testimony, conduct, procedures, practices and training. Demkiw has also ordered a full internal review of all aspects of plainclothes policing, including equipment and procedures for officer and public safety.
The move comes a day after a jury found Zameer not guilty of all criminal charges in the death of Toronto police officer Det.-Const. Jeffrey Northrup nearly three years ago.
On Sunday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy apologized to Zameer for all that he had been through during the last three years — something one legal expert noted as significant and unusual.
At separate points during the trial, Molloy questioned the Crown's "morphing" position about what happened on July 2, 2021, at one point saying she didn't see how the jury could convict Zameer of even the lesser second-degree murder charge.
"Let's just be blunt — I don't see how they can get to second-degree murder on this evidence because of the expert report and video," she had said.
Molloy told jurors before they began deliberating that it was her opinion there was no evidence to fully support the Crown's theory, but that the defence's theory aligned with the video, the experts, and the testimony of Zameer and his wife.
She also instructed jurors to consider the possibility of collusion between the witness officers, noting all three had the same incorrect memory of what happened.
On Sunday, Demkiw said the force was "hoping for a different outcome" in Zameer's trial.
In the release Monday, he said, "As I have done my whole career, I respect the judicial process and I accept the decision of the jury. Perhaps closure in a tragic event of this magnitude will come with time."
"As Chief, I was acknowledging the emotions many of us were feeling, while struggling with the death of a fellow officer, but of course, closure can never come at the expense of justice."
More to come.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
A suspended Moncton structural engineer faces more lawsuits alleging design flaws in buildings that require repair.
Sajjade Tugano has come a long way since he first set foot in Chibougamau, six hours north of Quebec City, in the depths of winter in November 2021.
A national mentor-based hockey organization that helps marginalized youth through the sport is paying tribute to one of its members and youngest coaches.
After months of asking the City of Saskatoon to do more to solve its homelessness crisis, advocate David Fineday took to the stand at city council Tuesday.
A community organization wants to breathe new life into a historic building in Regina.
Some Prince County residents are walking away with more answers after attending Tuesday night's public information session in Albany, P.E.I., on the Wejipek Wind Project.
After just a few months of using vape detectors in a couple of bathrooms, a B.C. high school principal says it's reduced vape use in those areas to basically zero.
Burlington MP Karina Gould gets boost from local young people after entering Liberal leadership race
A day after entering the Liberal leadership race, Burlington, Ont., MP and government House leader Karina Gould was cheered at a campaign launch party by local residents — including young people expressing hope the 37-year-old politician will represent their voices.
Anold Mulaisho was born intersex and wonders where they fit in, in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order for the United States to recognize only two sexes, male and female.
WARNING: This story contains references to suicide.
Subway service is down on Line 1 between Sheppard West and Lawrence West due to a broken power rail, the TTC said Wednesday morning.
A long-term care home in Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood has cleared one more hurdle to add desperately needed beds to its property, a move that's been praised by housing advocates but opposed by locals concerned about the impact on the neighbourhood.
A Charlottetown resident is calling on the P.E.I. government to do more to protect homeowners after reading about a recent oil spill very similar to one on his Montague property 20 years ago, which he says ruined him financially.
WARNING: This story includes details of abuse.
Two years after Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly declared she was taking the unprecedented step of moving to confiscate millions of dollars from a sanctioned Russian oligarch with assets in Canada, the government has not actually begun the court process to forfeit the money, let alone to hand it over to Ukrainian reconstruction — and it may never happen.
Alberta business and oilpatch leaders are returning home from Washington this week after the U.S. presidential inauguration festivities — and gritting their teeth after a roller-coaster of emotions.
Youth workers in Toronto's Jane and Finch area are flipping the script on negative stereotypes about their communities with a new fundraising campaign that offers anti-bias training in exchange for donations to bolster their programming.
In a sudden move that came late Tuesday evening, city officials rolled out cots and temporarily opened a warm building in east London as frigid temperatures continued.