Bottles and Bullets: Shootout at the Slate River Bridge | TBPL Research Blog

"When men, engaged in the liquor business commenced to carry revolvers with which to protect themselves against possible police interference, then they ceased to be simple law breakers, and became bandits and potential murderers" — Magistrate William Palling, Fort William, 1922

Four Ontario Provincial Police officers, led by Inspector Charles W. Symons, waited in the bushes. They had carefully positioned themselves along a side road just after the Slate River Bridge. It was 10:30 pm, Friday, July 7, 1922. The prohibition of intoxicating beverages was in full force in the United States. While the province of Ontario was under The Temperance Act, which banned the sale of alcohol, the manufacturing and private possession of alcohol remained legal.

A truck crossed the bridge, slowed, turned down that same side road and stopped. The police were feet away, unobserved, hidden. They waited. Approximately thirty minutes later, a car approached and parked cautiously away from the truck. A whistle came from the truck, its driver signaled for the car to pull up alongside. From both vehicles, there were a total of four men. "I've only got twelve cases for you this time," said the driver of the car, as he and a passenger got out of their vehicle.

Even though both sides of the border were officially "dry," the price of whiskey in America was too tempting for bootleggers. It was more lucrative to smuggle contraband liquor across the border than sell it at home. The Pigeon River formed the key barrier; for those willing to take the risk, it was an opportunity.

It was initially reported that the police had been in the area for the previous week searching for an escaped prisoner. At the inquest, however, a different account emerged. Inspector Symons testified that he and his men were acting on "information received," without specifying its exact nature. It remains unclear what that information referred to.

Several weeks earlier, eighty cases of liquor had been stolen from a Port Arthur residence, an investigation that would later become closely tied to the events at Slate River Bridge.  

When the men began transferring the 'Black Knight' scotch whiskey, the police knew it was time to act. Inspector Symons and Constable Young left their positions in the underbrush, alarming the two men, who each began running in opposite directions. Shots were fired, though it was unclear by whom. Symons chased after the man, later identified as Nick Zurkin, running up the road away from the bridge. Constable Young, soon joined by Constable Finlayson, chased the other man, Louis Brunetti, in the direction of the Slate River Bridge. At the same time, Constable Ingram covered and arrested Fred Gabanziak, the man who had remained in the car. It was not reported how the driver of the truck, Nick Bodner, was arrested.

Firing their guns in the air, Constables Young and Finlayson yelled for Brunetti to halt and put his hands in the air. After repeating the order, Brunetti finally relented, complying with the command. It was more complicated for Inspector Symons; Zurkin, who appeared determined not to surrender, wasn't going to be taken in without a fight.

Symons chased, aware that one of the suspects had fired at them, though not knowing which. Once past the truck, Zurkin darted down the side of the road, refusing to stop as Symons called after him. Zurkin screamed that he would shoot the inspector. He repeated his warning twice more. Inspector Symons later testified that he responded by saying "go ahead and shoot and I'll shoot too." Intending to frighten the man into surrender, he shot his weapon in the direction of the woods to the right side of Zurkin. At that same moment, Symons stated that Zurkin had chosen to run into the bushes.

"Symons, you've shot me, and I have a boy at home," Zurkin said as he lay on the ground.

"I have one too," Symons replied. He soon approached and confirmed the wound. The bullet entered the small of his back, passed through his kidney and intestines and lodged near the front of his abdomen.

After the police secured the prisoners and confiscated the whiskey, they drove to the city, bringing Nick Zurkin to the McKellar General Hospital. He would later succumb to his injuries. Police believed Zurkin's revolver had been fired during the exchange.

The other three men were charged with offences under the Ontario Temperance Act, including transporting liquor on a public highway. Louis Brunetti and Fred Gabanziak later pleaded guilty and were fined and sentenced to jail terms. Nicholas Bodner also faced charges related to the transportation of liquor, in addition to charges connected to the earlier theft of eighty cases of whiskey from the Port Arthur residence of Charles Greer. Additional individuals were later charged for their roles in receiving and concealing the Greer liquor.

At the Coroner's inquest, the jury determined that Zurkin's death resulted from the gunshot wound, received while evading arrest. This verdict cleared Inspector Symons of wrongdoing during the shootout.

Please note that the local newspapers used many different surname spelling variations pertaining to the men involved with bootlegging.

The Library is proud to present TBPL Files: True Crime Edition at Mary JL Black Library on Wednesday, May 13, 6 - 7:30 pm, and at County Park Library on Thursday, May 14, 6 - 7:30 pm. The same program content is presented at each location. Please join us as we delve into two gripping crime narratives from our past.

If you would like to know more about the 1922 gunfight, or about anything else local history related, please contact us at research@tbpl.ca