Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Commissioner, Thomas Carrique, put out a detailed statement on Thursday night, standing up for the integrity of the OPP investigation into how three Toronto Police officers acted during the Umar Zameer murder trial.
The OPP’s investigation found no proof that the officers lied or worked together in their testimony regarding the death of Det-Const. Jeffrey Northrup, but Zameer’s lawyer has come forward to say that this police-on-police investigation might have been biased.
This inquiry was called for by Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw after Ontario Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy told the jury in her final instructions to think about whether the three officers who were key witnesses for the prosecution – Sgt. Lisa Forbes (who was a detective constable at that time), Det-Const. Antonio Correa, and Det-Const. Scharnil Pais – might have colluded.
Earlier on Thursday, Zameer’s lawyer, Nader Hasan, raised concerns about whether the OPP investigation was unbiased and called for a public inquiry into police behavior during the trial.
“We expected less from a police investigation involving other police,” Hasan said. “These types of reviews usually range from being inadequate to completely whitewashing.”
“We need to set the record straight about this so-called OPP report that came out this week. We are here today because we’re seeing a troubling moment in Canadian justice history.”
Carrique responded later on Thursday by defending the OPP’s investigation and strongly denying any claims of bias affecting it.
“To avoid conflicts of interest, the OPP carried out an independent criminal investigation into this matter led by the Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB). CIB investigators are highly skilled and operate under strict investigative standards, legal requirements, and internal review processes. Their conclusions were made after re-examining all available evidence while following every lead and adhering to rigorous investigative protocols required in any criminal case.
Together with a public inquiry into officer conduct, Hasan wants both the OPP and Toronto Police Service (TPS) to release the full collision report they prepared for Tuesday’s report as well as all communication between the OPP, TPS, and Toronto Police Association (TPA) regarding this investigation.
A spokesperson for the premier’s office did not respond right away when asked about an inquiry possibility.
Meanwhile, Carrique stated he takes issue “with any suggestion that this criminal investigation lacked independence or failed to follow strict protocols or was influenced in any way by another service.”
“The OPP understands how vital it is to maintain public trust, especially when police are under scrutiny during an investigation. We support our report along with our investigators’ expert work and findings,” he wrote.
“In Ontario, there isn’t any legislated independent body responsible for investigating criminal activities involving members of police services except for the Special Investigations Unit which has a very specific mandate that doesn’t apply here.”
The Commissioner of Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), Thomas Carrique, has given a statement following releasing its investigative report on whether three Toronto Police Service (TPS) officers committed crimes during their probe into TPS… pic. twitter. com/Ay TPDc Zk Es
– Thomas Carrique (@OPPCommissioner) March 19, 2026
Northrup was an undercover officer who tragically lost his life when Zameer’s vehicle struck him in an underground parking garage at Toronto City Hall back in July 2021. Zameer was acquitted two years ago.
The conclusion from OPP’s experts indicated that Northrup was standing upright when Zameer’s vehicle moved forward rather than lying on the ground as both expert witnesses had claimed in court.
Carrique defended this discrepancy by stating “OPP Collision Reconstructionists are highly trained specialists who evaluate physical evidence alongside vehicle dynamics and environmental facts to determine what happened during collisions. They draw conclusions based on evidence while providing expert opinions.”
“The OPP Collision Reconstructionist used all materials provided by TPS which included scene videos, photographs, a 3D scan of location details from TPS collision field notes alongside their reconstruction reports, mechanical examination findings along with forensic identification results such as fingerprints; Centre of Forensic Sciences assessments; plus postmortem reports. The reconstructionists also examined vehicles directly conducting tests using them while visiting sites with similar vehicles present for analysis.”
“To ensure impartiality throughout their inquiries, their investigations didn’t include reading witness statements nor court testimonies or comments made by judges during trials.”
“Members involved within Technical Collision Reconstruction Program emphasize thoroughness through objectivity maintaining professionalism throughout each procedure.”
With files contributed by John Marchesan , Patricia D ’ Cunha , and Shauna Hunt
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