The fate of a man accused of fatally running over a Toronto police officer is now in the hands of the jury.

Umar Zameer has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of Detective Constable Jeffrey Northrup.

The officer died in July of 2021 after being hit by a vehicle in an underground parking garage at Toronto City Hall.

Zameer’s lawyers argued the man did not intend to kill anyone and behaved reasonably in the face of what he thought was an imminent threat to his family as two unknown people rushed up to his car and began banging on it.

And Justice Anne Molloy said that in her opinion there was no evidence to fully support the Crown’s theory that Northrup was standing in front of the car out of view of a security camera before he was run over.

Toronto defence lawyer Ari Goldkind told guest host Jane Brown on Zoomer Radio’s Fight Back with Libby Znaimer, he doesn’t think this should ever have gone to a jury.

“I don’t think the back-up verdict of manslaughter, which is where a jury hedges, and says we’ve got to punish him for something. There’s is no case here and should not even be in a courtroom,” Goldkind explained.

Goldkind says this was a tragic accident for which Zameer has expressed deep remorse.

Listen to Jane’s full conversation with Ari Goldkind by clicking here.