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A video of Toronto police tackling a cyclist for an alleged traffic violation has prompted questions over whether the use of force was justified — or could lead to further animosity to cyclists on the road.
The video, which has been circulating on social media, shows a Toronto police officer running across Queen’s Quay W. near Little Norway Crescent in pursuit of a cyclist, before disappearing off screen.
The video then shows the officer and two others pinning a man to the ground next to a bicycle. The man can be heard asking, “What did I do wrong?” One of the officers responds that he didn’t stop.
Toronto police say officers were at the intersection Sunday evening after receiving numerous community complaints about cyclists on the Martin Goodman Trail failing to obey the stop sign there.
The cyclist arrested in the video had failed to stop at the sign, and gone through the intersection at a “high rate of speed and shouted a profanity at officers as he passed,” Toronto police spokesperson Stephanie Sayer said in an email.
Sayer did not mention the use of force, but said the cyclist had attempted to flee police after twice being told to stop, and “was subsequently arrested and issued three provincial offence notices.”
Lawyer questions use of force
The widely-shared video garnered divisive comments online.
Some supported police, saying they were stopping a dangerous road user. Many others, including personal injury lawyer David Shellnutt, criticized the officers, saying they had used excessive force in the arrest.
Shellnutt and managing partner at The Biking Lawyer LLP, who shared the video on his Instagram account, said the police response wasn’t appropriate considering the alleged offence.
“It has to be reasonable, necessary and proportionate — and someone not stopping at a stop sign, it’s not proportionate to tackle them off their bike,” Shellnutt told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning Tuesday.
He said police should have let the cyclist go, then tried to stop him further down the road, rather than risk injuring him when he didn’t appear to be posing a physical threat to others.
Shellnutt said he worries the video will inspire people “who are generally angry at cyclists” to take the law into their own hands when it comes to road safety.
“This is a green light from police to [say], that cyclist cut me off, maybe I’m gonna hit him when he passes me,” Shellnutt said. “That’s the kind of temperature we want to bring down.”
In a release Monday, Shellnutt called on Mayor Olivia Chow and Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw to “rein in their officers and root out anti-cyclist attitudes and practices at [Toronto Police Service].”
Mayor Chow told reporters Tuesday that she would defer comment on “the specific circumstances of the arrest” to Toronto police, but did say they should review the video and incident.
Cycle traffic at intersection an issue, locals say
Locals in the neighbourhood, like Diane Simon, told CBC Toronto that bicycle traffic at the intersection was a problem, but forceful arrests weren’t a solution.
“I don’t agree with how the police managed that situation,” Simon said. “Four cops on one person, or they come out here and do a blitz for an hour, that’s not actually going to address the problem.”
Another local, Josh Ingleby, called the arrest “an unnecessary action [and] overstep of authority.”
“Feels like a flex from police trying to make a statement,” he said.
