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Jury selection begins this morning in Toronto in the trial of Umar Zameer, who is accused of the premeditated murder of police officer Jeffrey Northrup in 2021. The hearings are likely to be highly publicized due to the reactions that the murder had raised in the political class and the public.
Umar Zameer is accused of deliberately hitting Officer Jeffrey Northrup to death with his vehicle in the underground parking lot of Toronto City Hall on the night of July 2, 2021.
According to the Toronto Police Service, Officer Northrup and his teammate were participating in an investigation into allegations of robbery and assault with a weapon. The two police officers were dressed in civilian clothes.
Police maintain that the accused charged at the officer when the officer was responding to a call about a robbery at city hall.
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A pallbearer places Officer Jeffrey Northrup's cap on his casket during his funeral on July 12, 2021.
Agent Northrup had succumbed to his injuries at St. Michael's Hospital. He was 55 years old.
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The police officer, who had 31 years of service, was survived by his wife, three children and mother. His death had shaken the metropolis.
The lighting at the town hall had been reduced, the flags had been put up Berne and a book of condolences was made available to the public.
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Margaret Northrup, the victim's wife, spoke at her husband's private funeral.
Many glowing testimonials had been published on social media.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paid tribute to him by recalling that Agent Northrup had been killed in the line of duty and by transmitting his condolences to the police officer's family.
Umar Zameer remains at large and is subject to strict house arrest conditions.
Judge Jill Copeland of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, for example, forced him to live at the home of those who vouched for his deposit and his person.
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The scene in the parking lot, on the night of July 2, 2021 .
The Torontonian, who is now 34 years old, was released in September 2021 on bail of $335,000.
A rather exceptional fact in judicial annals, since it is very rare in Canada for an individual accused of premeditated murder to be released on bail.
He has been under electronic monitoring for over two years. He cannot travel outside his residence without being accompanied by one of his benefactors and in extraordinary circumstances.
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Officer Jeffrey Northrup was struck by a vehicle in the City Hall parking lot.
Umar Zameer's release does x27;had not failed to provoke a reaction from the political class on Twitter. Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford and former Toronto Mayor John Tory said they were shocked by such a decision.
Mr. Ford tweeted: Our justice system needs to get its act together and start putting victims and their families before criminals.
Mr. Tory, for his part, asked to know the reasons for a decision he described as questionable.
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Toronto Mayor John Tory pays tribute to police officer Jeffrey Northrup, killed in July 2021.
The Law Union of Ontario filed a complaint against Mr. Tory with the Ontario Civilian Police Commission [an independent quasi-judicial body, Editor's note], because he was a member of the Toronto Police Services Board at the time, whose code of conduct he had violated.
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, for his part, had claimed without proof that Umar Zameer was already out on bail in connection with another crime he allegedly committed before the death of Officer Northrup.
A publication ban was ordered at the bail hearing.
After his victory, Umar Zameer's defense nevertheless requested in December 2021 that the ban be partially lifted so that the judge could publish the reasons why she had released his client.
< p class="StyledBodyHtmlParagraph-sc-48221190-4 hnvfyV">The request by the accused's defense was unusual in that it was she who had demanded such a ban in the first place.
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Toronto Police Chief at the time James Ramer speaks to the press following the killing of Officer Northrup.
To At the time, the defense argued that he wanted at all costs for his client's trial to remain fair, neutral and impartial.
She nevertheless subsequently explained that the exception she requested regarding a partial lifting of the ban could allow Torontonians to fully understand the magistrate's decision.
The defense wanted in particular to correct false information which, according to it, circulated in the media after the arrest of its client and after the imposition a publication ban on all legal proceedings.
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Lawyer Nader Hasan does not was addressed to the press only once during an outing to court to quell the rumors, which were circulating at the time about his client.
She was concerned about all the bad publicity that might have circulated about the accused before his trial, particularly during the selection process. #x27;an impartial jury.
The Crown, however, opposed the defense request, asserting that it was essential to maintain the impartiality of the judicial administration, to ensure the rights of the ;accused to a fair and just trial and to keep the evidence in the file confidential.
After hearing the arguments of both parties, the judge finally refused to lift the ban, even partially, because she feared that it would do more harm than good to the fairness and integrity of the upcoming trial.
