Canada: Three Canadian police officers have been charged with manslaughter after the death of a one-and-a-half-year-old boy as a result of a shooting in Ontario in 2020, an independent government agency announced.
A brief statement said Special Investigations Unit Director Joseph Martineau has reasonable grounds to consider that three members of the Ontario Provincial Police have committed criminal acts related to the murder of Jameson Shapiro.
The 18-month-old was killed on November 26, 2020, as a result of a shootout between his father and police in Kawartha Lakes, about 100 kilometres north of Toronto. He was hit by a bullet while he was in his father’s car and soon died.
“As a result, Martino recommends that charges be brought against the two policemen,” the authority stated, noting that “he will not make any further comment in this regard.”
Both regional police officers were charged with manslaughter and negligence for causing the child’s death. Previous data indicated that all of them used their firearms.
The authority had stated that the policemen, after receiving news that a father had kidnapped his son, spotted the vehicle and tried to intercept it.
The vehicle collided with two cars, one of them belonging to the police. A policeman outside the car was seriously injured, and an exchange of fire ensued.
In early 2021, the Special Investigations Unit concluded that “the death of the child was caused by police shootings.” The commission also drew attention to the confiscation of the three policemen’s weapons, noting that a pistol was found in the father’s car.
The father of the 33-year-old boy was seriously injured and airlifted to a hospital, where he died a few days later.
The three police officers are scheduled to appear in the Ontario Court of Justice on October 6.