1-year-old boy dead, OPP officer injured in confrontation

[Thomas]

‘Does he have the son?’ Recordings reveal chaos, confusion as charges dropped in fatal OPP shooting of toddler

Three OPP officers were not aware 18-month-old Jameson Shapiro was in the driver’s seat when they fired upon his father, who was holding a gun, prosecutors said in an Oshawa court on Monday.

Moments before three OPP officers fatally shot an 18-month-old child, police and emergency dispatchers were rushing to determine whether the toddler was with his father, an “unpredictable” man with a history of violence and mental health issues who was armed with a gun.

“Did we confirm? Does he have the son? I just — I’m not sure if we should maybe terminate it if he’s got a child,” said Const. Nathan Vanderheyden in newly released recordings revealing the chaotic pursuit leading up to the fatal 2020 police shooting of Jameson Shapiro and his father at a roadblock on a rural Kawartha Lakes highway.

The recordings were made public Monday as the criminal trial for the three Ontario Provincial Police officers charged in the toddler’s death came to a sudden end inside an Oshawa courtroom. In a brief appearance, Crown prosecutors withdrew all charges against the officers — one charge each of manslaughter, aggravated assault, and reckless discharge of a firearm — saying there was no reasonable prospect of conviction.

Evidence heard at the preliminary hearing, alongside an unusual defence decision to share the officers’ notes ahead of trial, established that Vanderheyden and constables Kenneth Pengelly and Grayson Cappus fired their weapons in self-defence, prosecutor Ian Bulmer said. They’d made the split-second decision after witnessing 33-year-old William Shapiro slam his truck into an OPP officer then point a handgun out the window, and had fired with precision only at the driver’s side of the vehicle.

They didn’t know that Shapiro was holding his young son in his lap, Bulmer said.

“His death was a tragic, unintended consequence of shots fired by the defendants in a genuine situation of self-defence,” Bulmer said.

Moments after the charges were withdrawn, the officers and their supporters exchanged tearful hugs. Their lawyers and the officers’ union called the outcome “just” but said it was a sombre day.

“It’s such a huge sense of relief but there’s no celebration here — this is a tragedy for everybody involved,” said defence lawyer Harry Black.

Documents filed during the hearing reveal new details about the unprecedented case, believed to be the first time in the 30-year history of Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) that the watchdog had investigated the police shooting of a young child. According to the agreed statement of facts, Shapiro showed up at the home of his estranged wife, Jameson’s mother, at 3 a.m. on Nov. 26, 2020, armed with a stolen Colt .45 handgun.

“He showed her the handgun and told her that he was going to kill all of them, the ‘real estate agents’ and himself,” according to the document.

Shapiro had a criminal record, substance abuse problems and mental health issues that worsened after buying a family home then fixating “on deficiencies in that residence,” the document states. In December 2019, he was charged with criminal harassment after he damaged the builder’s home, and he had a history of domestic violence; he strangled his mother and in June 2020 he was found guilty of assaulting his ex-partner, the statement of facts said.

Transcripts and audio from the radio communications, meanwhile, shed new light on increasingly confusing circumstances as officers pursued Shapiro.

“The caller is indicating that the male took their two-year-old son,” a dispatcher reports at the start of the call, which came in at 8:49 a.m.

“OK, just getting an update here, the child was not taken,” he adds a moment later.

As officers nearby radio in that they are heading toward the home, they ask about Shapiro — “What’s the story with William, do you know?” one asks.

“He does have diagnosed mental health issues,” one answered.

An official notes Shapiro is flagged for unpredictable behaviour — “in past, has made comments to friends and wife that he would die by suicide by police,” he says.

“If he’s unmedicated, he is very very unpredictable,” another officer notes.

Updates come in that Shapiro is on the move, driving a rust-coloured 2016 Toyota Tundra. Vanderheyden, among the first to respond, spots the truck in North Bobcaygeon, heading west on a rural, two-lane highway called Pigeon Lake Road.

“I’m just keeping my distance, in case he tries to fire rounds or something,” Vanderheyden said, before asking if the child was in the car then contemplating whether to call off the pursuit if he was.

“I’m still trying to confirm,” a dispatcher said.

Vanderheyden later pipes in: “Confirmed male. He’s got a handgun. He’s holding it out the window … He’s got the gun to his head.”

Const. Chris Dobbs then radios in, saying he’s on Pigeon Lake Road; Vanderheyden tells him police are going to need to lay down a spike belt — “Make sure you have cover,” he says to Dobbs.

Vanderheyden then says Shapiro is speeding down the wet and foggy highway, eventually reaching nearly 180 kilometres an hour.

“Just to confirm again to the units, just be advised (there’s) child in that vehicle, there’s a child in the vehicle,” one officer says.

Vanderheyden issues a warning to an officer setting down the spike belt: “He’s pretty desperate, he had a gun to his head, just make sure if he tries to go straight into your cruiser or something, just make sure you’ve got some sort of cover buddy.”

Moments later, audio of the call captures the sound of a collision, followed by moaning. Someone radios in, “We need an ambulance right away.”

Then, seconds later: “Drop your gun. Drop it. Drop it. Drop it. Drop it.”

A barrage of shots going off can then be heard.

“We need a f—-ing ambulance,” someone says, then: “Shot fired. Officer down. Officer down.”

Vanderheyden radios in to confirm that multiple shots were fired into the vehicle and requests an ambulance. Dobbs, one of the officers setting down the spike belt, had been struck and was “very injured.”

Then, an update.

“Child was in the vehicle.” He has no vital signs. Soon, he is confirmed dead.

Shapiro, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds, died a week later in hospital. Dobbs, who was struck when Shapiro collided with an OPP vehicle and another car, survived but suffered critical injuries.

In court Monday, Bulmer detailed the extensive investigation done by the SIU. Forensic ballistic testing showed officers “did not engage in a panicked, haphazard discharge of their firearms” but had aimed their firearms at the driver’s seat. A bloodstain pattern analysis concluded that both Jameson and William Shapiro were in the “driver’s seating area” at the time of the shooting.

Officers’ notes had stated Shapiro was pointing his gun towards them immediately before police fired, and forensic analysis showed there were bullets in the chamber of Shapiro’s gun, but it had jammed, Bulmer said. It was likely that a jury would conclude the shots fired by the officers were justified, he said.

“It is clear that William Shapiro is the person who’s most responsible for the events that occurred that day,” he said.

Bulmer noted, however, that questions remain about police conduct in the case that could warrant examination at a coroner’s inquest, mandatory in Ontario after police-involved deaths. That could include scrutinizing the use of C8 rifles at close range; the court heard during the preliminary inquiry that the powerful gun was fired from between six and seven feet away from the truck, which “may be cause for concern,” Bulmer said.

The officers were charged in 2022. During the prolonged investigation, the SIU took the rare step of bringing on the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to perform specialized ballistic testing.

Outside court, Joseph Markson, the lawyer for Pengelly, said his client has been living daily with the horror created by Shapiro’s “hellish” actions.

“He was the author of this tragedy,” Markson said.

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/doe ... 1da45.html

[Thomas]

Charges against OPP officers dropped in child's shooting death: police association

Charges have been dropped against three Ontario Provincial Police officers who had been accused in the fatal shooting of an 18-month-old boy during a child abduction investigation, the police union said Monday.

In a written statement, Ontario Provincial Police Association president John Cerasuolo called it a correct and just decision.

“In this case it has been determined that on the totality of the evidence there was no reasonable prospect of conviction,” Cerasuolo said.

“Our officers were doing their job according to their training.”

The three constables were charged with manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death with a firearm in the death of 18-month-old Jameson Shapiro after a lengthy investigation by the province’s police watchdog into what happened on Nov. 26, 2020.

The Special Investigations Unit had said officers opened fire on Jameson’s father’s pickup truck with the child inside after the truck crashed into a police cruiser and injured an officer who was laying down a spike belt.

The SIU had said the truck was stopped by officers investigating reports that a father had abducted his son. Investigators recovered a pistol inside the pickup truck.

The agency had said evidence suggested police gunfire killed both Jameson and his 33-year-old father, but charges were only brought against the officers in Jameson’s death.

In a written statement on Monday, an SIU spokesperson said the Crown’s decision to drop the charges was based on information not in the agency’s possession during its investigation: the officers’ hand-written notes about the incident.

The officers did not agree to be interviewed by the agency or authorize the release of their notes, as was their right, SIU spokesperson Monica Hudson wrote in an email.

“The SIU respects the Crown’s decision and will make no further comment on the case,” she said.

Charges were brought against Nathan Vanderheyden, Kenneth Pengelly and Grayson Cappus almost two years after the incident. The SIU attributed the delay in part to the time it took to get the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation’s forensic test results on some of the ballistic evidence.

The SIU has previously said it interviewed at least 18 witness officers and 14 civilian witnesses during its investigation.

A Crown prosecutor, reached by email on Monday, declined to provide further comment beyond what was presented in court.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2024.

https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/c ... ssociation

[Thomas]

Charges dropped against 3 Ontario police officers for killing toddler in shooting

All criminal charges have been withdrawn against three OPP officers following the fatal shooting of a toddler and his father in late 2020 in the City of Kawartha Lakes, Ont.

In Oshawa court on Monday morning, the Crown withdrew charges of manslaughter, reckless discharge of a firearm with intent and aggravated assault against City of Kawartha Lakes OPP constables Grayson Cappus, Kenneth Pengelly and Nathan Vanderheyden in connection to the death of the toddler — not his father.

The Crown stated it had no “reasonable prospect” of a conviction.

“After a thorough review and giving the matter very careful consideration, the Crown concluded that there was no reasonable prospect of conviction and accordingly the charges were withdrawn,” stated Keesha Seaton, media spokesperson for the Ministry of the Attorney General.

The three officers were charged in August 2022 following an investigation by Ontario’s police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit. The SIU determined a police shooting on Nov. 26, 2020 left 18-month-old Jameson Shapiro dead at the scene. The toddler’s 33-year-old father, William, Shapiro, died in hospital nearly a week later.

The SIU reported that officers pursued a pickup truck following reports a toddler had been abducted from his home in the neighbouring Municipality of Trent Lakes. The SIU said the three officers opened fire on the pickup truck — with the toddler in his lap — that was speeding along Pigeon Lake Road.

Evidence at a preliminary hearing revealed the officers did not know the child was in his father’s lap at the time of the incident.

The vehicle crashed into a police cruiser, injuring an officer who was laying down a spike belt on the roadway. The officer was taken to a Toronto hospital in stable condition and was transferred to Peterborough hospital a week later.

The SIU determined police gunfire killed both the father and his child. Along with analyzing the officers’ firearms, the SIU also located and seized a firearm from the pickup truck.

In a statement on Monday, Ontario Provincial Police Association union president John Cerasulo said the lives of the child’s family, police officers and civilian members have been “forever impacted” by the incident.

“The circumstances of this incident involving the death of an innocent child are tragic for all involved,” Cerasulo said. “We offer our sympathies to the child’s family. It is our duty to serve and protect and we take that duty very seriously. Unfortunately, as police officers protect public safety in highly volatile and fast-moving dangerous situations, unexpected outcomes may result.”

Cerasulo noted one officer suffered “life-altering injuries.” He said he supported the decision made by the Crown on Monday.

“It is a correct and just decision made today that the charges against our members have been withdrawn. We have stated from the outset that our members acted courageously and professionally during an extremely dangerous situation. We were confident that as the case proceeded through justice system that the evidence would vindicate the officers,” he said.

“It is important for the public to understand that if police are charged with an offence, they have the presumption of innocence, and in this case it has been determined that on the totality of the evidence there was no reasonable prospect of conviction. Our officers were doing their job according to their training.

“We encourage anyone impacted by this situation to reach out and lean on those closest to them as well as seek professional mental health assistance. We also encourage you to reach in to those you know are impacted by this.”

https://globalnews.ca/news/10381911/cha ... d-toddler/

[Thomas]

Charges withdrawn against OPP officers in 2020 shooting of child

'Our officers were doing their job according to their training,' said OPP Association president of tragic 2020 incident in Kawartha Lakes

Today, all charges were withdrawn against our members, OPP Provincial Constables Nathan Vanderheyden, Kenneth Pengelly and Grayson Cappus in relation to a police-involved shooting in Lindsay on Nov. 26, 2020.

On that day a family suffered the death of their child. The lives of the family, our police officers, and civilian members have been forever impacted. One of our members sustained very serious life-altering injuries during the response to that tragic incident. When an incident such as this occurs, it affects the families, the community, and our entire policing family.

“The circumstances of this incident involving the death of an innocent child are tragic for all involved," said OPP Association President John Cerasuolo.

"We offer our sympathies to the child’s family. It is our duty to serve and protect and we take that duty very seriously. Unfortunately, as police officers protect public safety in highly volatile and fast-moving dangerous situations, unexpected outcomes may result," said Cerasuolo.

"It is a correct and just decision made today that the charges against our members have been withdrawn. We have stated from the outset that our members acted courageously and professionally during an extremely dangerous situation," he added.

"We were confident that as the case proceeded through justice system that the evidence would vindicate the officers. It is important for the public to understand that if police are charged with an offence, they have the presumption of innocence, and in this case it has been determined that on the totality of the evidence there was no reasonable prospect of conviction. Our officers were doing their job according to their training," concluded Cerasuolo.

We encourage anyone impacted by this situation to reach out and lean on those closest to them as well as seek professional mental health assistance. We also encourage you to reach in to those you know are impacted by this tragedy.

The Canadian Mental Health Association Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge offers mental health supports to residents of Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton, Peterborough and County, and Northumberland. To learn more about the programs and services they offer, visit cmhahkpr.ca or call 705-328-2704.

The Ontario Provincial Police Association’s (OPPA) Encompas Mental Health Wellness Program is available to our members and their families by calling 24/7: 1-866-794-9117 or by visiting encompascare.ca.

Confidential support services are available to all OPP members, families, retirees, and auxiliaries through the OPP’s Healthy Workplace Team (HWT) available by phone, toll-free at 1-844-OPP-9409 (1-844-677-9409), or by directly contacting any HWT member.

https://www.orilliamatters.com/police-b ... ld-8504408

[Thomas]

Charges dropped against OPP officers involved in 2020 Kawartha Lakes shooting that killed toddler

In 2023, Ontario's police watchdog had charged three officers with manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death

Charges of manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death have been dropped against three Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers who were involved in a tragic shooting in Kawartha Lakes in November 2020 that killed 18-month-old Jameson Shapiro at the scene and, later, the life of his father.

The Barrie-based OPP Association, which represents 6,200 uniformed and around 3,600 civilian members of the OPP, announced on Monday (March 25) that all charges had been dropped against constables Nathan Vanderheyden, Kenneth Pengelly, and Grayson Cappus during a court appearance.

“It is a correct and just decision made today that the charges against our members have been withdrawn,” stated OPP Association president John Cerasuolo in a media release. “We have stated from the outset that our members acted courageously and professionally during an extremely dangerous situation. We were confident that as the case proceeded through justice system that the evidence would vindicate the officers.”

On November 26, 2020, the OPP responded to a report of a domestic dispute near Bobcaygeon involving a firearm, and that a 33-year-old man had abducted his infant son. When they attempted to stop the man’s pick-up truck on Pigeon Lake Road east of Lindsay, it collided with another vehicle and seriously injured an OPP officer.

Police confronted the driver and three officers fired shots at the pick-up truck, injuring the man. The body of the infant was later found in the pick-up truck, along with a handgun. The boy’s father succumbed to his injuries almost one week later.

After an initial investigation and months of public speculation, Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) confirmed in February 2021 the infant had died as a result of being shot by police. At that time, SIU spokesperson Monica Hudon wrote in an email that the three officers involved in the shooting had “not as yet availed themselves of an opportunity to be interviewed.”

In August 2021, the SIU announced the investigation was “in a hold pattern” awaiting the results of specialized forensic testing of some of the ballistic evidence by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the U.S. In November 2021, the SIU announced it was reviewing the FBI’s forensic report and was continuing “to actively investigate this tragic case.” Over the following nine months, the SIU provided no further public updates on the investigation.

In August 2023, almost two years after the shooting, the SIU announced there were “reasonable grounds” to believe the three OPP officers “committed criminal offences” and each of the officers was charged with manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death.

A preliminary hearing examining the evidence in the case began in the Ontario Court of Justice in Oshawa in December 2023 and continued in January, with a publication ban on evidence presented at the hearing. The OPP Association provided no details of what happened at Monday’s hearing.

“It is important for the public to understand that if police are charged with an offence, they have the presumption of innocence, and in this case it has been determined that on the totality of the evidence there was no reasonable prospect of conviction,” Cerasuolo said. “Our officers were doing their job according to their training.”

Cerasuolo acknowledged the impact of the 2020 shooting incident on the lives of the family and on the police officers and civilian members of the OPP.

“The circumstances of this incident involving the death of an innocent child are tragic for all involved,” he says. “We offer our sympathies to the child’s family. It is our duty to serve and protect and we take that duty very seriously. Unfortunately, as police officers protect public safety in highly volatile and fast-moving dangerous situations, unexpected outcomes may result.”

Cerasuolo is encouraging anyone affected by the situation “to reach out and lean on those closest to them as well as seek professional mental health assistance,” noting that the Canadian Mental Health Association Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge offers mental health supports to residents of Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton, the city and county of Peterborough, and Northumberland. Confidential support services are available to all OPP members, families, retirees, and auxiliaries through the OPP’s Healthy Workplace Team.

https://kawarthanow.com/2024/03/25/char ... d-toddler/

[Thomas]

Court drops charges against Ontario police officers involved in fatal 2020 shooting of 18-month-old

Criminal charges laid against the three Ontario provincial police officers involved in the death of a one-year-old boy in Kawartha Lakes, Ont. in 2020 have been withdrawn.

During an appearance at the Newmarket, Ont. courthouse on Monday, Justice Paul L. Bellefontaine announced a withdrawal of charges against OPP constables Nathan Vanderheyden, Kenneth Pengelly and Grayson Cappus. The three constables were previously facing one count each of manslaughter, aggravated assault, and reckless discharge of a firearm in relation to the death of 18-month-old Jameson Shapiro.

The charges were dropped after prosecutors said they believed there would be no way to prove the officers' guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in front of a jury.

On Nov. 26, 2020, Jameson was killed by police gunfire following a vehicle chase between officers and his 33-year-old father. Earlier that day, it had been reported to police that Jameson’s father had abducted the child, according to Ontario’s Special Investigation Unit, an arms-length agency that investigates police interactions that result in serious injury, death, or allegations of sexual assault.

Jameson died at the scene, while his father died from his injuries in hospital nearly a week later. While the police watchdog said evidence suggested officer gunfire killed both Jameson and his father, charges were only brought against the officers in connection with the child's death.

In January 2021, the SIU said the three officers who opened fire had not agreed to be interviewed and were under no legal obligation to do so. At the time, the SIU had interviewed 18 police officers and 14 civilians as part of its investigation. The officers were charged by the SIU nearly two years later, in August 2022.

In a statement issued Monday morning, the Ontario Provincial Police Association said the withdrawal marked a “vindicating" result in a case that has been "tragic for all."

“When an incident such as this occurs, it affects the families, the community, and our entire policing family.” President John Cerasuolo said in the statement. “It is our duty to serve and protect and we take that duty very seriously. Unfortunately, as police officers protect public safety in highly volatile and fast-moving dangerous situations, unexpected outcomes may result.”

Cerasuolo said the association has stated “from the outset” that the officers involved acted professionally and “courageously,” and that it was confident that the officers would not be found criminally responsible as the case moved through the courts.

“It is important for the public to understand that if police are charged with an offense, they have the presumption of innocence, and in this case, it has been determined that on the totality of the evidence there was no reasonable prospect of conviction. Our officers were doing their job according to their training,” he continued.

The association encouraged those impacted by the deaths to seek mental health resources available through the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Speaking to reporters following the appearance, defence counsel for Pengally, Joseph Markson described a sense of relief.

“It's the just and right outcome,” Markson said. “We're very grateful that the system works, and we always had confidence in Const. Pengally’s courage and bravery and professionalism on this tragic day.”

https://www.cp24.com/news/court-drops-c ... -1.6820992