Toronto police officers who spoke with Umar Zamir are testifying in court

TORONTO – Two police officers who spoke with a man accused of running over a constable said at the scene they did not know the people who approached his car were police.

Det. Const. Ryan D'Souza and Det. Const. Sharnil Pais was called to testify about comments Umar Zamir made to them on July 2, 2021, when they were arrested.

Zamir has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of Det. Const. Jeffrey Northrup, died after being hit by a car in the underground garage at Toronto City Hall.

Crown prosecutors allege that while officers were nearby, Zamir chose to perform a series of maneuvers with his vehicle, causing Northrup's death. The defense says it was a tragic incident and that Zamir and his family believed they were being attacked.

On Thursday, Zamir said he was scared after midnight when an unidentified man and woman – Northrup and his plainclothes partner – believed him, his pregnant wife and two-year-old son, ran to their car in the garage. was robbing his son.

He said when police later told him he hit a police officer, he said he didn't run over anyone and didn't know the people outside his car were officers.

D'Souza, who arrived at the scene after Zamir's arrest, said Zamir told him a man and a woman were banging on the windows and door of his car, so he was scared and tried to run away.

Zamir told him that he did not know they were the police and if he had known he would not have left, the officer said. D'Souza asked Zamir if he saw any police signs, and Zamir said he saw nothing.

He noted that Zamir appeared “in a state of shock, not completely.”

Pais, who testified at an earlier hearing and took the stand for the second time on Friday, was one of the officers who stopped Zamir's car and arrested him.

He remembers approaching Zamir, who was handcuffed on the ground, to get to the other side of the car. He said he had told Zamir to stand up and had just run over a policeman.

Zamir said he didn't know the men were officers at the time, Pais said. The officer said he saw Zamir's blood in the car and said something to the effect of “that's my partner, you just passed.”

Pais said Zamir told him that there had been a stabbing in the area that night and they were scared. The officer said he punched Zamir to get him to move. Pais said he did not remember Zamir saying anything else.

During cross-examination, Pais denied saying that he was afraid of the man and woman in Zamir's car. He acknowledged that his notes on the incident may not reflect everything that was said, but he said he would keep such an opinion in mind.

The court previously accused Pais and his partner, Det. Const. Antonio Correa, each filed a statement with police on July 2 and wrote their notes on August 4, more than a month after reporting the incident. They also went through the garage together on July 20 to refresh their memories, they testified.

The defense alleges Pais and Correa spoke to each other about the case, but neither said they discussed their evidence with anyone.

On Friday, D'Souza told the court that he, Pais, Correa and two other officers wrote their notes at the same time in the study room of the 52nd Division.

When asked about it Friday, Pais said he couldn't remember anyone else being there when he wrote his notes.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys are expected to make their closing arguments to the jury next week.

This Canadian Press report was first published on April 12, 2024.