(Toronto, ON) A video of what appears to be four Toronto police officers tackling and arresting a cyclist on the Martin Goodman Trail, on Lakeshore Blvd. in the city, during an apparent stop-sign trap, is sparking cries against excessive use of force.
The video, taken by another cyclist has been posted on X by David Shellnutt, The Biking Lawyer, who represents injured cyclists and other vulnerable road users, is going viral.
The cyclist identified by police as a man in his 20s, who is clearly in discomfort, can be heard asking the officers “What did I do?” and he’s told that he failed to stop. Then he can be heard groaning and screaming and saying “Oh my god.”
Shellnutt reached out to Toronto Police Services and according to them, “On Sunday, May 31, 2026, at approximately 18:27hrs, police were conducting cyclist stop sign enforcement in the area of Queens Quay West and Little Norway Crescent. The Division had numerous community complaints regarding cyclists failing to obey the posted stop sign at the intersection.
Officers observed a male cyclist travelling eastbound on Queens Quay West fail to stop for the clearly marked stop sign. Officers directed the cyclist to stop. The cyclist proceeded through the intersection at a high rate of speed and shouted a profanity at officers as he passed. A second officer again directed the cyclist to stop; however, the cyclist refused and attempted to flee from police.
The cyclist was subsequently arrested and issued three provincial offence notices.”
Shellnut questions the excessive use of force for a traffic stop, “This really stood out to me as being, you know, quite an aggressive situation, and so we posted it online, and a lot of people in the cycling community felt the same way,” he told CTV news.
“You just don’t see arrests for Highway Traffic Act infractions resulting in someone being tackled to the ground and jumped on by a bunch of officers. The Supreme Court has said the use of force has to be reasonable, it has to be necessary, and it has to be proportionate,” he added.
The targetting of cyclists is an issue Shellnutt has raised numerous times from incidents in High Park, to police vehicles parking in bike lanes, to this latest altercation which, “we think this is heavy-handed enforcement and a really bad example for Toronto police to set.”
Read more in CTV here.
