Expert, former SIU director question findings in OPP investigation into Umar Zameer trial

The Ontario Provincial Police’s conclusion of no wrongdoing by Toronto police officers accused of collusion in a high-profile murder trial is being called into question by a reconstruction expert and the former director of the Special Investigations Unit. 

It’s “curious” that officers at the scene recalled the same details, and that independent and Toronto police reconstruction experts were not questioned as part of the investigation, said Alan Morris, national director of collision reconstruction at Pario Engineering and Environmental Services.

“Usually witness statements are from individuals' points of view, and those will be different based on their positions, based on their recollections of events,” he told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning on Wednesday.

A long-awaited OPP report was released on Tuesday, stating Toronto Police Service officers involved in the investigation into the 2021 death of Det. Const. Jeffrey Northrup did not lie. 

It also states that an “independent OPP reconstructionist” was brought in after investigators “identified significant concerns” that the case’s evidence did not support the collision theories posed by two separate expert witnesses, including a Toronto police officer.

The OPP’s reconstruction of the scene — using evidence “the TPS reconstructionist and defense engineer did not identify or note” — concluded that Northrup was standing in front of Umar Zameer’s vehicle when it “plowed him along the ground,” said the report. 

Morris questioned how new evidence was found by the OPP that was not considered by the TPS or defense experts, but noted that he has not seen the full reports by those experts. 

Accident reconstructionists look at all the evidence that’s available, such as damage to vehicles, prints on vehicles, tire marks on the road and witness statements, before making a conclusion, Morris said.

But, he said, it’s not an exact science when factoring in different human perceptions to a case.

The OPP reconstruction report relied mostly on physical evidence, such as damage to the vehicle, tire marks and “grainy” video recordings, said Morris. Meanwhile the TPS and defense expert made their conclusions largely using fingerprints. 

“One would think that we have a plurality of opinions that side with what was essentially concluded by the jury,” he said. 

CBC News reached out to the OPP for comment. 

While you could “write off” the defense reconstructionist, it’s hard to ignore the findings from the Toronto police’s own expert, said Ian Scott, former director of the SIU.

It’s important to note that the TPS reconstructionist would have been “highly motivated to come up with an opinion that would have supported the [witness] officers,” he told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning on Wednesday.