A collision reconstructionist says an acceleration mark and a so-called body scuff were found at the scene of a crash that killed a Toronto police officer nearly three years ago.
Toronto police officer Jeff Bassingthwaite is testifying at the trial of Umar Zameer, who has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of Det. Const. Jeffrey Northrup.
Northrup died on July 2, 2021, after he was struck by a vehicle in an underground parking garage at Toronto City Hall.
Bassingthwaite says the body scuff — a mark where a body comes into contact with the ground — contained clothing debris, including grommets and a button, and ended in a “large pool of blood.”
The officer says the scuff suggests Northrup’s body was “tumbling and rolling” as it went under the vehicle.
Three police officers who witnessed the incident previously testified Northrup was standing with his hands up when he was struck, but the defence says the officer had already been knocked to the ground when it happened.
Zameer’s wife, Aaida Shaikh, testified Tuesday that she had no idea they had hit a person until she heard it from investigators, and thought they had gone over a speed bump.
Shaikh told the court she and her husband didn’t know the people who rushed toward their car that night were police officers, and instead believed they were being attacked. Court has previously heard that Northrup and other officers in the garage that night were in plain clothes, meaning not in uniform.