Man charged in cop’s death granted bail
Zameer to remain in community awaiting trial on first-degree murder
A judge has granted bail to the man charged with running over and killing Toronto police Det. Const. Jeffrey Northrup this summer in the underground parking lot beneath city hall.
The decision means Umar Zameer, a 31-year-old accountant, will remain in the community while awaiting trial on the charge of first-degree murder. He faces a life sentence if convicted of that offence.
Superior Court Justice Jill Copeland’s reasons for releasing Zameer are covered by a ban on publication. That ban prevents the Star from detailing why she made the rare decision to release a man accused of murder in the death of a police officer.
On Wednesday, defence lawyer Nader Hasan said he would take the unusual step of asking the court to release a portion of her reasons so the public has a better understanding of the case and why she came to the decision she did.
“When an individual charged with a serious crime has been granted bail, the public is inevitably curious about the reason,” Hasan explained in an email to the Star. “We can only respond that there is much more to this case and this tragic situation than meets the eye. In due course, this will become clear.”
Northrup and other officers had been investigating a stabbing near Toronto City Hall when he was killed after being struck by a vehicle allegedly driven by Zameer shortly after midnight on July 2. Soon after Northrup’s death, Toronto police investigators called it an “intentional and deliberate act.”
Northrup, 55, was dressed in plain clothes but could be identified by the name tag worn around this neck, police have said. His partner, who was also in plain clothes, was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
It’s rare that a person accused of killing an on-duty police officer is released from custody, but it has happened before. In 2007, in a decision described as a first in Canada, a judge in Quebec released a man accused of murdering an officer. A jury acquitted that man the following year.
Under the Criminal Code, an accused can be released if they can show why their detention is not justified. When making that decision, a judge considers whether there is a risk the accused will not attend court, the nature of the offence and potential penalty, public safety and the strength of the Crown’s case. Courts also consider if the detention is necessary to maintain confidence in the administration of justice.
After Wednesday’s hearing, Toronto police Det.-Sgt. Jeff Allington, the officer in charge of the case, said Northrup’s family will not be making any statements.
Others did weigh in. Premier Doug Ford tweeted the decision to release Zameer was “beyond comprehension,” and said the justice system “needs to get its act together.” Jon Reid, president of the Toronto Police Association, also used Twitter to blast the bail system for “not working” and called on political leaders “to make this right.”
Two law professors point out that those reactions appear to ignore a cornerstone of the criminal justice system.
“The most obvious problem with the premier’s tweet is that it implies the accused is a criminal, but of course he is presumptively innocent,” Palma Paciocco, an Osgoode Hall law professor specializing in criminal law and theory, said Wednesday.
She also noted that Canada’s bail system “is set up on the understanding it is not appropriate or justifiable to punish people who have not yet been tried and convicted,” adding it can also be inferred that the defence satisfied the court “it was acceptable to release this individual because his ongoing detention was not justified.
In recent years, the Supreme Court has also released multiple, unanimous decisions that say “if we have a problem with the bail system, it’s in the opposite direction — that too many people are not being released,” she told the Star.
Western Law professor Christopher Sherrin, who also specializes in criminal law, wrote in an email that the right to “reasonable bail” is guaranteed under the Charter and pretrial release on bail is “meant to be the norm, not the exception.”
While knowing nothing about the judge’s reasons for releasing Zameer, Sherrin wrote in his email that “it is possible that there is more to the story than people think.”
Toronto Mayor John Tory, who is a lawyer, tweeted that it is “almost impossible to imagine a circumstance in which an accused in a case of first-degree murder would be granted bail,” but added, “the fact we don’t know the reasons why the presiding judge made such an extraordinary decision thanks to a publication ban is very troubling, it is wrong, and represents one more argument supporting my long-standing call for bail reform.”
Zameer watched Wednesday’s proceeding sitting masked in a video room at Toronto South Detention Centre.
In his email to the Star, Hasan added that while Zameer’s family is “very pleased” about his release and plan to welcome him home, “I know it comes amidst a tragedy for Officer Northrup’s family and … express my condolences.”
Northrup was honoured with a public procession followed by a funeral held at BMO Field that was livestreamed on YouTube on July 12. He was described as “the hardest of all workers” and an officer who would take on “any job with a smile.”
The officer’s funeral was attended by members of over 50 emergency service organizations from across Canada.
The publication bans routinely imposed on bail proceedings are intended to protect an accused person’s right to a fair trial by jury. While the ban in Zameer’s case covers evidence presented during the two-day bail review held earlier this month, the conditions the judge attached to his release can be reported. The plan for his release includes three sureties pledging a total of $335,000. Fifty thousand dollars must be deposited with the court prior to his release from custody.
He is required to live under house arrest with his sister and abide by the terms of an electronic monitoring supervision program. Zameer is also not allowed to leave Ontario nor attend any international airport and must surrender his passport or travel documents to police. Zameer is also restricted from driving a motor vehicle.
He is scheduled to appear in court again Oct. 1.
A date has not yet been set to hear arguments on the publication ban.