A recording of the police radio conversation shows officers were told there was a child in the truck they were chasing in the mostly rural community on November 26, 2020, and that, according to one officer, the driver had put a gun to his head. The pursuit was sparked by a reported child abduction earlier that day and ended with the fatal shooting of both 18-month-old Jameson Shapiro and his 33-year-old father, and left an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officer critically injured. Ontario police said Wednesday three officers have been charged in the shooting — with one count each of involuntary manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death — in the death of the child. The audio was captured by Shawn Salo, a freelance journalist who runs the Peterborough Scanner Feed website, which publishes the radio communications of emergency services in the community northeast of Toronto. “I hope by releasing this recording it helps you understand the situation a little better,” Salo wrote when he posted the 12-minute recording on YouTube. CBC News is not showing the video in its entirety as some may find it disturbing. LISTEN | Child in vehicle, officers said;

“There is a child in this vehicle,” the dispatcher tells police before firing

Early in a 12-minute police scanner recording, a dispatcher tells Ontario Provincial Police there’s a child in the vehicle they’re pursuing. The recording of the November 2020 incident was released online a day after three police officers were charged in the death of 18-month-old Jameson Shapiro.

“He’s pretty desperate”

The recording begins with the police looking for the father and the rust-colored Toyota Tundra. Early on, a female voice, who appears to be the dispatcher, alerts the officers that there is a child in the truck. “Notify units that there is a child in this vehicle. There is a child in this vehicle,” he says. Moments later, an officer following the truck warns another waiting: “He’s pretty desperate … he had a gun to his head.” “I have a negotiator on hand,” the woman says. LISTEN | Police in pursuit:

Police note that the man in pursuit appears “desperate” in the scanner footage

As the pursuit continues, an officer can be heard on the police scanner noting that the driver of the vehicle appeared “desperate” and had a gun pointed at his head. The recording was posted online a day after three Ontario Provincial Police officers were charged in the 2020 fatal shooting of 18-month-old Jameson Shapiro. About a minute later, police are heard calling for a canine unit and a helicopter. The pursuit continues along Pigeon Lake Road – with the driver maintaining about 170 kilometers per hour, according to officers – when they are told to “pull over” and give the suspect space in the vehicle. The police at this point appear to be driving the vehicle towards a spike zone. Seconds later, there’s a loud crash followed by a moan. Another person is heard shouting, “Drop it!” before shots — about seven shots. “Shoots, shots! Officer down!” an officer is heard shouting. There was another series of loud bangs – it’s not clear if they were gunshots – followed by silence for several moments. The next two minutes are mostly silence and broken audio. Around 8:25, someone is heard calling for rescuers. “An ambulance is on the way,” advises the dispatcher.

The officers opened fire

CBC Toronto attempted to independently verify the recording by sharing it with the OPP. OPP spokesman Bill Dickson confirmed the force is “aware that dispatch audio is online.” “It would be inappropriate to provide any information regarding the injuries our member sustained. All details will be part of the evidence presented in court,” Dixon said in an email. The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has previously stated police officers were trying to intercept father’s truck when it crashed into an OPP cruiser and another car on Pigeon Lake Road. An officer standing outside the cruiser at the time was seriously injured in the process, the SIU previously said, but did not elaborate. Three officers then opened fire, hitting the boy in the truck and his father, according to the SIU. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene. His father was taken to hospital and died from his injuries about a week later. It has yet to be officially named by the SIU.
Police said they found four guns at the scene, three belonging to the officers and one found near the father’s truck. The SIU said last year it had interviewed 18 police officers and 14 civilians as part of its investigation. He said Thursday that he would not comment further on the case since it is now before the courts. The accused officers are scheduled to appear in court in Lindsay, Ont. on October 6.