Toronto’s police chief has yet to apologize for doubts he cast on a man’s innocence when commenting on his acquittal, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association said Thursday, asking the civilian body that oversees the force whether it believes the The boss’s comments were appropriate.

The CCLA said it has also asked the Toronto Police Service Board what steps it will take to ensure Chief Myron Demkiw and other members of the police force do not “publicly smear bail decisions or criminal verdicts in the future.”

The association’s questions to the board came after Demkiw said Sunday that police “expected a different result” after a jury acquitted Umar Zameer of an officer’s death.

On Tuesday, the chief then said he wanted to make it “very clear” that he accepts and supports the jury’s verdict, but the CCLA said he had not “specifically repudiated or apologized” for his initial comment.

“Chief Demkiw’s statement conveyed to the public that, despite Mr. Zameer’s acquittal, he should have been found guilty,” the CCLA wrote in its letter.

“His statement cast doubt on Mr. Zameer’s innocence, usurped the judicial system’s responsibility to determine guilt, and undermined public confidence in the administration of justice.”

The Toronto Police Service board did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the CCLA letter.

When asked about the letter, Toronto Police Service spokesperson Stephanie Sayer said the chief “has stated on numerous occasions that he supports the justice system and accepts the jury’s decision.”

“He again recognized that we all seek closure to tragic events in different ways, but that closure does not come at the expense of justice. We have nothing more to add in this regard,” he stated.

A jury found Zameer not guilty of first-degree murder Sunday afternoon in the detective’s death. Const. Jeffrey Northrup, who was hit by a vehicle in the underground parking lot of Toronto City Hall almost three years ago.

Zameer said in court that he did not know that Northrup and his partner, who were in plain clothes, were police officers and Zameer felt that he, his pregnant wife and their young son were in danger when two strangers ran toward their car.

During the trial, prosecutors alleged that Zameer decided to drive dangerously even though Northrup and his partner were nearby, and alleged that Zameer intentionally ran over Northrup.

Defense lawyers argued that Zameer did not know they were officers and feared his family was being attacked by robbers or a gang. They argued that Zameer had no reason to want to flee from the police and tried to escape as safely as possible.

On Tuesday, when asked about his comments over the weekend, Demkiw said that “in the context of the totality of the circumstances” he was trying to convey that he accepted the jury’s findings.

Shakir Rahim, director of CCLA’s Criminal Justice Program, and Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, executive director and general counsel of CCLA, said in the letter that the chief’s statement requires review and oversight.

“It is outside the scope of the police’s official duties to publicly smear an acquittal handed down after a trial, where relevant evidence against an accused person has been heard and proven,” the letter said.

Legal observers have questioned the decision to charge and prosecute Zameer for murder when the evidence did not support it.

Observers also criticized comments about the case made by several politicians, including Ontario Premier Doug Ford, before the trial even began.

When Zameer was released on bail in the fall of 2021, Ford expressed his disapproval on X, formerly known as Twitter, calling the decision “completely unacceptable.” He initially described Zameer as “the person responsible for this heinous crime,” but later changed it to “the accused person.”

Ford said earlier this week that it had “limited information” at the time. He made similar comments Thursday, saying he made the comment with information he “had at the beginning.”

“It’s a very sad situation,” he said.