Charges dropped against Ontario cops in shooting that killed toddler

All criminal charges have been dropped against three Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers who were accused in a deadly 2020 police shooting that killed a father and toddler in Kawartha Lakes, Ont.

Jameson Shapiro, 33, abducted his child on Nov. 26, 2020, in a Toyota Tundra truck, sending officers on a chase that ultimately led to the fatal shooting of both the father and 18-month-old Jameson Shapiro.

The responding officers fired a barrage of 45 shots at the truck when it finally came to a halt after colliding with an OPP vehicle, court heard Monday. Jameson was killed at the scene. His father was taken to hospital where he died on Dec. 2, less than a week later.

Three OPP constables — Nathan Vanderheyden, Kenneth Pengelly and Grayson Cappus — faced once count each of manslaughter, reckless discharge of a firearm with intent and aggravated assault, in relation to the boy's death.

But the Crown withdrew those charges in an Oshawa court on Monday. The decision came after a preliminary hearing into the high-profile shooting was held. In total, 12 witnesses were called by the Crown from Dec. 15, 2023 until Jan. 8, 2024.

The three officers were also initially each charged with one count of criminal negligence causing death, but that charge was previously dropped as it was found redundant, Crown attorney Ian Bulmer said to the packed courtroom.

"What happened on [that day] was terrible, dangerous and a traumatic event for everyone involved," Bulmer said.

Bulmer said the Crown had no evidence to disprove the officers' version of events that they fired their weapons in self-defence, therefore there was no reasonable prospect of conviction in the case.

The Crown's decision was based on information contained within the officers' notes, which were written independently by each of them after the shooting, Bulmer said. 

Bulmer said the officers made the notes prior to consulting lawyers and before their exposure to any evidence in the case, including radio communications and other witness statements. 

The officers had not previously released their notes during the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) investigation that led to the criminal charges, "as was their legal right," said SIU spokesperson Monica Hudon in an email. 

Harry Black, defence lawyer for Cappus, said the notes were made immediately after the officers returned from hospital, where they were taken after the shooting. 

Black said he normally does not advise officers to release their notes "in the first instance," as is consistent with their right to remain silent and the Crown's responsibility to prove their case. 

During his address to the court, Bulmer said that Jameson sustained four gunshot wounds, including a wound to the back of the base of his skull, which rapidly caused his death.