Accused in Toronto cop's death had 'glazed look' after arrest, court hears

A man accused of killing a Toronto cop had a "glazed" expression after his arrest and told a police officer he didn't know they were cops, the officer testified on Friday.

Umar Zameer has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of Det.-Const. Jeffrey Northrup, who died after he was run over by a car in an underground parking garage on July 2, 2021.

Det.-Const. Ryan D'Souza told jurors on Friday that he received an emergency call from another officer on his team to an underground parking lot at Toronto City Hall about 20 minutes after midnight.

The major crimes unit at the Toronto police 52 division had been investigating a stabbing in Nathan Phillips Square, D'Souza said. The entire team wore plain clothes at the time. Before entering the parking garage, however, he said he put on a black bulletproof vest with the word "police" written on the front and back.

After entering the P1 level of the parking garage, D'Souza described seeing two of his fellow officers outside of the police minivan they were driving. Both the airbags in the police minivan were deployed, he said.

Det.-Const. Jeffrey Northrup died after being struck by a vehicle in the parking garage at City Hall on July 2, 2021. A member of 52 Division since 2008, Northrup left behind his wife, three children and his mother. (Toronto Police Service/Twitter)

The van was parked directly behind a dark coloured BMW sedan, he recalled. D'Souza said he saw a man, Zameer, handcuffed in a kneeling position next to both vehicles.

"He was just staring into the distance," D'Souza said. "He appeared to have a glazed look on his face." The officer added that Zameer looked "not completely present."

Several meters away, D'Souza saw a pregnant woman — Zameer's wife, Aaida Shaikh — holding a young child and "crying heavily."

D'Souza asked the officers what had happened. "They said [Northrup] got run over and it's bad," he said. He asked whether Zameer was a suspect in the stabbing that they were investigating and says he was told Zameer was not.

Story continues

After another officer was called away, D'Souza said he finished reading Zameer his legal rights after his arrest. He then asked Zameer about what happened.

Referring to his police notes from the incident in the witness box, D'Souza recalled Zameer saying there had been a stabbing, that he had seen many police cars and he wanted to leave. Zameer then said a man and woman had gotten out of a black van and began hitting his car.

"He said that he was scared and trying to get away," the officer recalled. "He said that he had no idea that they were police."

Zameer, pictured above, testified in court on Thursday that he did not know the man and woman who approached his car on July 1, 2021 were police officers. (Pam Davies/CBC)

Zameer then gestured to D'Souza's vest, saying that the man and woman who approached him didn't have a similar identifier. D'Souza asked if Zameer had seen the officers' badges, but he replied he did not see anything.

Later, after Zameer was transported to the police station, D'Souza said his expression remained shocked and glazed. "His demeanour did not change," he said.

D'Souza gave an audio statement about the incident on July 2, 2021. The officers involved received the week off after Northrup's death, he said. D'Souza completed his police notes for that night on Aug. 4, 2021.

"I didn't feel comfortable reliving what happened on that day," D'Souza said.

Court has heard Zameer was in downtown Toronto with his pregnant wife and young son to enjoy Canada Day festivities. He was not involved in the stabbing that police were investigating, but he had coincidentally walked past the victim earlier that night.

Accused gave tearful testimony on Thursday

During his testimony on Thursday, Zameer tearfully apologized to Northrup's family and said he thought his family was being ambushed by criminals that night.

He told jurors he did not know the man and woman — Northrup and his partner Sgt. Lisa Forbes — who approached his car that night were police.

"Why wouldn't I stop if they [said] 'police?' Why wouldn't I talk to them?" Zameer said on Thursday. "I didn't do anything wrong."

Crown prosecutors allege Zameer chose to make a series of manoeuvres with his car that caused Northrup's death, but the defence says the officer's death was a tragic accident.