May 18, 2024 - A concerned cyclist regarding police vehicles stopped in bike lanes that don’t appear to be responding to emergencies received an “aggressive, rude” reply from a Toronto Police unit complaint co-ordinator reports the Toronto Star.
“The police can park where they need to. If they wanted to park upside down, inside out, or on top of a building, that would be acceptable,” wrote the TPS complaint co-ordinator which baffled the cyclist and was a departure from previous polite exchanges with the TPS officer.
The cyclist attempted to receive an apology with the help of David Shellnutt, a Toronto lawyer and cycling advocate, but instead they filed a complaint with Law Enforcement Complaints Agency (LECA), an independent civilian oversight agency. The agency determined it “would not be in the public interest” to investigate further.
Cycling advocates said that while this is an extreme case, they believe it’s an indicative of a larger “anti-cyclist attitude” held by some officers of the Toronto Police Service. More than 8,600 people were fined $150 for stopping in Toronto bike lanes last year. Yet in spite of the penalty, TPS Parking Enforcement Officer Erin Urquhart feels many drivers don’t care or don’t think they’ll get caught.
Read the full report here.
