Just another sad example of protecting their own. Anyone else would have had the book thrown at them.
Nope. It ain't just the cops. Remember Michael Bryant? The case against that piece of shit didn't even make it as far as a courtroom. There are two kinds of law in this country (and everywhere else). One set of laws for the rich, powerful, and/or connected, and another for the rest of us.
Yeah, I remember him and the cyclist that was killed. Wasn't he the attorney general at one point? If he was, then they are all part of the same group… cops, crown prosecutors, judges, A-G. etc.
I seem to remember that the cyclist basically attacked him and his wife in the car. Bryant never fled the scene nor attempted to cover anything up. There were witnesses who testified to this. Also it was later disclosed the cyclist had substance abuse and anger issues. It was a trajedy what happened but preventable. The cyclist was the one who escalated the situation to dangerous proportions.
Agreed. If he is suspended while they (if they) try to sort out anything with the police service act, he will continue to receive his pay cheque. If he is fired (cynically - unlikely) doubt that he would have to return the money he got while suspended…
Nothing premeditated on Bryant's part. If I was driving a convertible with my wife beside me and a cyclist approached us in an aggressive manner I'd want to get the hell out of there too. In addition, Sheppard's blood alcohol level was 0.183 whereas Bryant's was zero. Sheppard had run-ins with six other motorists in the same month before his encounter with Bryant. So I agree, you can't compare the two.
Totally agree Butler!
In other words, he just hadn't been caught until now.
I've been bitching about the idiotic "vacation" pay cops get when they're suspended for years now. They should be suspended without pay, and only reimbursed if they're found innocent of any wrongdoing.
Bryant was attacked after he hit the cyclist an knocked him off his bicycle. It the very least he should have been convicted for dangerous driving for this, even if it was accidental..and it may not have been.
I couldn't remember the details of what happened - I guess 2009 was a long time ago for me…
The GTA has a peculiar way of dealing with such matters. In many other jurisdictions the fact that it was an off-duty police constable who had left the scene of a personal injury collision and had a BAL of .16 would go to the prosecution insisting upon an aggravated DUI/OUI/DWI charge. He would have been suspended with pay and pretty much immediately upon conviction have been fired. Oh and while awaiting trial his drivers license would have been administratively suspended.
Bryant's first fucking call was to a PR firm. The first thing his team did was go to the press and slam the poor fucker he killed in order to paint him as a horrible violent person and Bryant as the victim. Do you really think someone without the clout and PR team could have entirely dodged the question of whether there were TWO violent and stupid motherfuckers on the road that night? And regardless of what kind of drunken asshole Darcy Shepphard was being, speeding and trying to scrape him off your fucking car against fire hydrants and shit should get you hard fucking time. Unless you're the former AG I guess. In which case you simply cut a cheque to the lawyers and PR weasels, and afterwards write a book and profit off a tragedy that you were responsible for. Gotta recoup some of that loss, after all. He is a piece of shit of the lowest order.
I agree with you generally, but in Bryant's case, I'll side with Butler1000 in that there were mitigating circumstances in his favour. He probably still got more of the benefit of the doubt than you or I would have (Can you imagine if we took off and someone died? We'd be label murderers off the bat.)
If I got into the same shit, I'd call every person who could help me too. We are not all equal as to means and access I'm afraid. But I won't dismiss Bryant outright as not being a scumbag. He was a member of the Liberal Party after all
