Police in Toronto are facing questions for intense takedown efforts to stop a cyclist who allegedly blew through a stop sign on the city’s waterfront.
A video posted to social media appears to show a cyclist near Bathurst Street and Queens Quay, near Little Norway Park, being tackled to the ground by multiple police officers who were stopping and ticketing people failing to obey a stop sign.
In the video, the cyclist appears to complain he’s in pain as more officers rush over to restrain him.
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Lawyer Dave Shellnut, who runs a firm specializing in defending cyclists, said the police response was disproportionate to the situation.
“This is a Highway Traffic (Act) matter, you are not supposed to use force in this situation,” he told Global News. “It was really scary to see multiple officers lay upon a fellow cyclist.”
He said the law was written with the understanding officers weren’t to tackle or pursue vehicles that break traffic rules.
“If there’s a car that’s speeding and trying to get away from police, they are not supposed to engage in a pursuit,” he said. “They have other means to track this person; let them go. Alert the officers up the road.”
Police said they had tried to stop the cyclist, but claimed he sped past them, shouted profanities and tried to flee the second officer who stopped him.
Officers with Toronto police have been stepping up enforcement of stop signs in parts of the city after complaints about cyclists blowing through them.
Investigators said the cyclist in the video was arrested and faces three provincial offence charges.
— with files from Global News’ Victoria Femia
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