All criminal charges have been withdrawn against three OPP officers following the fatal shooting of a toddler and his father in late 2020 in the City of Kawartha Lakes, Ont.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consideration, the Crown concluded that there was no reasonable prospect of conviction and accordingly the charges were withdrawn,” stated Keesha Seaton, media spokesperson for the Ministry of the Attorney General.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.”
— with files from The Canadian Press