Nearly a year after a baby was killed by OPP gunfire, SIU says its ‘major’ investigation needs more time

Just days away from the anniversary of an Ontario Provincial Police officer fatally shooting a baby and his father during an alleged child abduction, the province's police watchdog has still made no decision about criminal charges in one of its highest-profile cases.

In a statement Tuesday, the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said it's in the final stages of what it called a major" investigation - but nearly 365 days since the unprecedented fatal police shooting of a baby, the watchdog hasn't resolved the case and can't say when it will.

I think the public rightfully has reason to be concerned about delay in the case like this," said Christine Mainville, a Toronto lawyer who served as counsel on an omnibus 2017 review of police oversight by Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Michael Tulloch.

Acknowledging that this case may be particularly complex - according to details released by the SIU over the last year, the shootings happened at an apparently chaotic roadblock that also left one officer with serious injuries - the investigation nonetheless seems to be taking a very long" time, Mainville told the Star, noting the length of watchdog probes was an issue identified by Tulloch in the review. She stressed that these investigations should not be rushed, but the longer it takes, certainly the more reporting back to the public there needs to be."

Friday marks the one-year anniversary since 18-month-old Jameson Shapiro was shot and killed when the OPP opened fire on his father's truck in Kawartha Lakes (the SIU has not released the boy's identity, but it has been independently confirmed by the Star). The boy's 33-year-old father was also shot and later died in hospital.

The Nov. 26, 2020 shooting by three OPP officers was the chaotic culmination of a call to police about a father abducting his son from the Municipality of Trent Lakes, near Bobcaygeon. According to the SIU, after police tracked the father's truck to a rural road in Kawartha Lakes, he crashed into an OPP cruiser and another vehicle, seriously injuring an OPP officer putting out a spike belt. The officers then opened fire on the truck.

For nearly three months after the shooting, it was initially unclear who had shot the baby, and the SIU initially noted a handgun had been found inside the father's truck. In February, the watchdog confirmed that forensic evidence, including trajectory and bloodstain analysis, had determined the baby had been shot by police.

In an update on the progress of the investigation Tuesday, SIU spokesperson Kristy Denette said the SIU has received the results of its rare request to have the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) provide a forensic report. The watchdog announced in August that it had tapped the American agency to provide specialized, out-of-country forensic testing of some of the ballistic evidence."

The SIU is reviewing the FBI's forensic report and continues to actively investigate this tragic case," the SIU said its release Tuesday.

In a statement to the Star, Denette acknowledged the investigation is taking time to complete" and that the watchdog is committed to conducting a thorough and complete investigation. The probe has been a major investigation that has required dozens of interviews and complex forensic examinations," she said.

I can't commit to a specific timeframe for completion at this time, other than to say the SIU investigation is in its final stages and staff are working as quickly as possible to see it through," she said.

Denette confirmed that the SIU has not interviewed the three cops who opened fire. The SIU has requested statements from them in the letter designating them as subject officers, Denette said, but none of the officers have to date stepped forward to provide a statement."

Officers who are the subject of a criminal investigation by the SIU are not legally required to speak to the agency.

In a statement to the Star Tuesday, Ontario Provincial Police Association President Rob Stinson, whose union represents the officers under investigation, said it respects the process of the SIU investigation and continue to support our affected members.

We continue to keep in our thoughts the mother and family of the little boy who tragically died," Stinson said.

Mainville said it's clear the SIU has been making an effort to keep the public apprised of progress via updates on the probe - information that may not have been released in the past. The practice of frequent updates on SIU investigations was a recommendation of the Tulloch review.

Last year, a new SIU Act came into effect requiring that the SIU complete investigations within 120 days or provide public notice that the probe is continuing. After 120 days, the watchdog shall make a public statement respecting the status of the investigation every 30 days," according to the legislation.

But the reporting requirements don't apply to the Kawartha Lakes shooting because it happened just days before the new law came into effect.

Wendy Gillis is a Toronto-based reporter covering crime and policing for the Star. Reach her by email at wgillis@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @wendygillis