131 Replies to “Ontario Pit Bull Ban Deemed A Success”

  1. Re: Pitbulls have killed fewer Ontarians then former AG
    Perfect kate, Best Line i have seen in yrs
    (with no disrespect meant to the accident victim)

  3. Over at Yahoo News a poster claimed to have witnessed the accident and wrote “The cyclist was a well-known downtown meth-head. He rode his bike into the guy’s car and began aggressively threatening the driver for money.”
    I don’t know if that is true, nor do I wish last night’s results on anyone, but I do think it would be best if more politicians, judges, and self-anointed elites rubbed up against the results of their decisions – and those of their peers – more often, just so they can see what the poor common slob has to put up with on a daily basis.
    I’m in or near the area of the accident most days and the cyclists are some of the worst in town. Just Friday I saw a cyclist throw his cell phone at a truck, mis-fire with his aim, and hit another guy’s car instead. The self righteousness of the downtown T.O. cyclist is unbelievable.

  4. There is a delicious, albeit tragic irony, in this story. Mr. Pit Bull Man (also Mr. HandgunBan Man, amongst others) Michael Bryant, former Liberal MPP and AG, was involved last night in an altercation with a cyclist in downtown TO, and apparently the Little Fuhrer may have killed him. Apparently Bryant may have assaulted the cyclist with his vehicle in a dispute, causing the cyclist to be drsgged down the road pinned to the car. The cyclist died in hospital. Police had not decided yet what if any charges might be laid.

  8. Liberal-MSM denial list includes the following words: Liberal, Muslim, Islam.
    No mention/use by the MSM of the word Liberal here:
    “Ex-Ont. AG held in fatal crash
    Charges pending against Michael Bryant”
    “Bryant, who was Ontario’s attorney general, aboriginal affairs minister and minister of economic development,”.
    urlm.in/cyyn

  9. When you have powerful friends and influence in high places, you don’t have to worry.
    I do expect the photo of him slunking in the back seat of a police cruiser has caused some embarrassment. The very most that can be hoped for in cases like this.

  10. What kind of fool hangs onto the side of a car as it is moving. If the car cut him off or something, taking a licence number and calling the cops would seem the way to go. That said, what kind of idiot with a fool hanging onto their car tries to knock him off by sideswiping mail boxes and telephone poles. Too bizarre.

  11. “That’s because he has been an “in-your-face,” activist minister, who is popular with the media for his communications’ savvy and pithy sound bites.
    As attorney general during the Liberals’ first term from 2003 to 2007, Bryant banned pit bulls, closed numerous marijuana grow operations, and delighted television camera crews by crushing seized cars used in street racing.
    “We will crush your car, we will crush the parts,” he thundered in 2007.”

  13. Mississauga Matt, you have a good point.
    It’s the same in Vancouver, cyclists are not all saints by any means. I’ve even seen “road rage” *between* cyclists.
    We visited this summer, took the kids on a bike ride through Stanley Park, and the cyclists there were some of the rudest and most aggressive I’ve ever encountered. They were as bad as the motorists that they complain so much about. Hypocrites. By the end of the ride my kids were scared to get on their bikes.

  14. To put things into perspective, Kate, (after reading all the info) this is analogous to a Cocker picking a fight with a sled dog. The outcome is predetermined.
    As for Pit Bulls, it’s the owners in these attacks, who are the problem.

  15. This is an absolutely horrendous incident, and my sincere condolences to the cyclist’s family. Though it MIGHT have been extreme for the cyclist to have held onto Bryant’s car (there’s a cautionary tale here), it was mind-numbingly extreme for Michael Bryant to have veered into oncoming traffic and up onto the sidewalk.
    Apparently, charges are still pending (from the Globe and Mail Web site):
    [begin quote]
    Ontario’s former attorney general Michael Bryant is facing two charges after a fatal hit-and-run in Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood Monday night.
    Mr. Bryant will be charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving causing death, a police source tells the Globe, after a collision left a 33-year-old cyclist dead.
    [end quote]
    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/michael-bryant-in-police-custody/article1271489/
    There still is no formal charge, however, and police are asking for more eye witnesses to come forward, which seems a little odd, seeing as there were, by all accounts, plenty of eye witnesses who didn’t seem inhibited about telling police what happened.
    Why are they reluctant to charge Michael Bryant? Could it have anything to do with his (Liberal) political affiliations? I’m pretty sure if I’d driven my car across traffic on a main thoroughfare in Toronto and up onto the sidewalk, resulting in the death of a cyclist, the police would have no hesitation charging me.
    I sincerely hope that justice is blind in this situation and that justice is done.

  16. The useless, lefty, underemployed, never earned a dollar that wasn’t beaten out of a taxpayer hack that wrote this story couldn’t bring themself to write Liberal? God I hate the CBC.

  17. *The self righteousness of the downtown T.O. cyclist is unbelievable.*
    Too right Mississauga Matt. There are way too many of them who think they own the road. I do not understand the attitude, but I have seen it many times.
    Last confrontation I had with one was when I was getting out of a cab on Spadina. The car was right next to the curb, and when I opened the door to get out, the idiot ate the door. He goes completely ballistic asking me why I did not look, seeming not to understand that when on the road he has to obey the rules. No passing on the right or within the same lane.
    I thought it was going to come to blows until a cop stopped and tuned the guy up.

  19. Usual MSM behaviour on the G&M web site:
    Editor’s Note: We have closed comments on this story for legal reasons. We appreciate your understanding.

  20. batb;
    In fairness, we do not know whether the guy who grabbed hold of the car was threatening the occupants. If he was amped up on crack or something similiar then the story changes. There are a lot of crazies in downtown Toronto. Under the right set of circumstances, I might use a mail box to scrape someone off my car too. If the guy is frothing at the mouth screaming about how he is going to kill me, I am not going to give him the chance. We simply do not know yet. That a guy would be hanging onto a car and trying to wrestle it to a stop might be a clue.

  22. One more point for us to consider. The car was a convertible. The guy was hanging onto the car by the drivers door. Is it possible that he had grabbed the wheel and helped cause the car to veer off the road onto the sidewalk. We simply do not know and therefore cannot judge this yet. And no, I am not a Liberal apologist, just a card carrying conservative looking at all the possibilities.

  23. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/victim-identified-in-bryant-case/article1272005/
    The victim in a fatal accident involving former attorney general Michael Bryant was a 33-year-old bike courier named Darcy Allen Sheppard, The Globe and Mail has learned.
    Mr. Sheppard had been working for Action Messenger since January, according to an employee who answered the company’s phone. She said that Mr. Sheppard was well like and that a customer had recently sent a letter to the company just to say what a pleasure it was working with Mr. Sheppard.
    The ordeal began around 9:45 p.m. last night, on Bloor Street between Bay Street and Avenue Road, at a traffic light. Police said a cyclist and a man in a convertible got into an “altercation.”
    Raajiv Rajadurai, 23, said he was in an eastbound vehicle on Bloor Street when he saw a cyclist slam his backpack onto the hood of a convertible and then grab the driver’s side mirror as the vehicle sped away.
    “The driver was going so fast that at one point the biker was holding on to his car and there were sparks coming from the bottom of his shoes,” he said.
    “It seemed like the driver was trying to shake him off because he turned really suddenly, put on the brakes, jetted it one last time and then all your hear is three thumps and then the guy falls on the floor.”
    Mr. Bryant will be charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving causing death, a police source tells the Globe.

  24. Perhaps he (the biker)was just holding on for dear life. We will probably never know. One thing for certain, Bryant will most likely get a slap on the wrist. Community service in a halfway house for junkies or some such. He will not go to jail.

  25. Posted by: bob c at September 1, 2009 12:02 PM **What kind of fool hangs onto the side of a car as it is moving. If the car cut him off or something, taking a licence number and calling the cops would seem the way to go. That said, what kind of idiot with a fool hanging onto their car tries to knock him off by sideswiping mail boxes and telephone poles. Too bizarre.**
    It would seem Bryant panicked when faced with the reality the rest of us experience daily.
    Once they emerge from their bubble of body-guards the world is a scary place.
    Crazy people are extremely intimidating….
    I confess to getting out of some tight spots by doing a convincing crazy….ya gotta do what ya gotta do……

  26. Thanks for that Sue. It sounds like Bryant initially stopped and then tried getting away after the guy pounded the hood of his car with his backpack. If true, cannot blame Bryant for that, although slamming the guy into a mailbox is a different matter entirely.

  27. I have despised Bryant since the pit bull ban, he is arrogant. But today’s news means he is going nowhere. Oh, he will get off this one, already it it going this way. He may even keep his new appointment… but everywhere he goes people will see Teddy.

  28. sasquatch;
    You are right. The guy who grabbed the car may have been a total loon, and threatening enough to make Bryant try to get out of there. Slamming a backpack into someones car and hanging onto it as it speeds away might well be evidence of that. There are no shortage of crazies in this city. We have all run into them. We should wait for the whole story to come out before convicting anyone.

  30. Using car as a weapon is not an excuse for a heated exchange. It’s not that he was threatened with a gun (or pitbul for that matter).

  32. *
    p.s. — “tj says… cyclists are not all saints by any means”
    i’m thinkin’… we don’t even execute the likes of paul bernardo…
    maybe we shouldn’t start with discourteous bike couriers.
    *

  33. “sparks off the bottom of his shoes”??? I’m trying to think of what material the soles were made of to produce this phenomenon. Perhaps some cleats I suppose. The story is still not very clear.

  34. Wow, the ‘damage control’ gang is out for the home team to try and salvage this for the mensch. What you don’t understand now is that no matter what you do, we have another Teddy and right on time too, since the last one just expired.

  35. The shoes probably were cycling shoes that have built in metal attachments that snap into the pedals.

  37. The political pessimist in me says that Bryant will somehow get off, or at worst get a slap on the wrist.
    That said however, this does raise some interesting questions.
    1.- If the cyclist was holding onto the Saab, then he was obviously the aggressor in this case. Its not like the car or Bryant reached out and grabbed his bike. As such, Bryant could easily argue he was scared/intimidated and panicked and lost control of the car.
    2.- Why didn’t Bryant just lock up the brakes and send the bike flying? The biker would most probably have still ended up on the pavement, but then any charges likely would have been against the biker (as he was obviously the aggressor).
    3.- The crossing of lanes and hitting the opposite sidewalk troubles me. Bryant could have simply stomped on the gas and lost the biker in a matter of several feet. The Saab’s acceleration would have required a grip well in excess of what normal human could muster – then at worst he’d be charged with speeding (or street racing 😉 ). I’m wondering if we’re going to find the cyclists handprint on the steering wheel????
    As many have said, an ordinary mortal would have been charged last night. The police are apparently now looking at surveillance tapes – likely from some of the stores and banks along that stretch. I’m not defending Bryant, as his actions or lack thereof were pretty dumb, but there may be more to this than meets the eye.

  38. Several comments:
    -this is Liberals being Liberals
    -the fact that the cyclist might have held onto the car, that could just be to save himself from being run over as the car went flying at him.
    – I find it shocking that people think it is understandable to use a car as a weapon against an annoying cyclist, no matter how annoying or how much of a meth-head he may be. It’s a freaking car! If you want to kick someone’s ass, then get out of the car! Throw the book at him.
    -the driver should be charged with manslaughter or murder, not criminal negligence causing death or dangerous driving causing death. This is not a case of negligence, and it may have been dangerous driving, but it was certainly dangerous driving with a purpose!

  39. I know;
    I do not know who you are referring to when you talk about the **damage control gang** being out to save Bryant. Perhaps you are referring to comments by myself and others who are not ready to convict based on incomplete stories. If so then we will have to agree to disagree. No one in my conservative world gets convicted without a full set of facts, regardless of their political persuasion.

  40. I wasn’t there, so I can’t make any statement about what the appropriate action for the cyclist was (and that’s assuming the cyclist did not initiate the collision, as some have alleged). However, having been a cyclist in Toronto for over 40 years, I can say from bitter personal experience that when you are cut off by a car, your best chance by far is to hang on to the vehicle, as opposed to being thrown off into traffic, lamp posts, etc. I have been draped over a trunk, clinging on to rain gutters, more times than I care to recount, but I’m still here. I doubt that would be true if I’d let go.
    On the positive side, I recently bought a new e-bike, which includes high visibility features like headlights, brake and tail lights, turn signals, etc. Does it replace a car? No. Does it fit the bill for quick little trips in town with no parking hassles, no gas, and no insurance? Yes. Is it tons of fun to ride? Absolutely!

  41. All very preliminary to be sure. I wasn’t happy with the Pit Bull regs and paid for a rescue effort for a couple of them. But to the matter at hand, cyclists downtown in our cities can behave very stupidly, all with an air of self-righteous entitlement and immunity from the highway traffic act. I’ve cycled to work myself, but I’ve no illusions that that grants me immunity from the traffic regulations.
    It seems as though one or both of those involved were extremely belligerent. And if some hefty character grabbed hold of my car’s mirror and hung on all the while threatening me, I’d feel no obligation to stop, get out and expect to settle the matter with rigid adherence to Robert’s Rules of Order or even the Marquis of Queensbury rules if it came to that. I’d bolt too. If he chose to hang on, well, he’d get what he gets.
    I expect the prosecution will turn on wether or not Bryant was trying to throw the cyclist off as an act of self defense or wether his intentions/behaviors revealed a more aggressive intent.

  42. So let’s see the damage control: The constant refrain for more facts (don’t you mean beliefs), must know the whole story (more subjective views), must not judge (you must judge the JUDGE), the cyclist was: crazy, a meth-head, the aggressor…
    Wow damage control 101 now…

  43. skuleman said, **I’m wondering if we’re going to find the cyclists handprint on the steering wheel????**
    Exactly. While we have no idea at this point as to whether that is true, if so it certainly changes things.
    As far as your belief that anyone else would have been charged already, that is not necessarily so. Police can hold someone for 24 or 48 hours pending further investigation and do that routinely.

  44. A serious breach of protocol here. From what i saw during my Toronto days, once physical contact has been made it’s incumbent on both participants to step on the pavement and begin tentative shoving with accompanying dialogue until there’s a fight or a backdown.
    See what happens when you flout the rules of civilization?

  45. listened purposely to CBCpravda radio news at 11am MST
    at that time CBCpravda would not name the accused or his former position in lieberal government.
    switched to Corus and of course they were using the “alleged” word with the name .
    CBCpravda All Liberal All The Time
    CBCpravda All Lies , even by ommission.

  46. Bike riders slamming their backpack on the car? Typical Toronto crap, weekly occurrence for down town driving. Probably didn’t like a lane change the car did or something, it doesn’t take much to set them off.
    Figures a Liberal would use the car on the guy, friggin’ coward. Altercations in the street are what Maglites are for.
    I favor the 4 D battery Maglite. The 6 battery is a bit unwieldy, and they all run away fast enough when they see the 4D. No need to go bigger IMHO.

  47. I have seen many cases where the police have taken days to level charges and I have also seen the charges raised or lowered as more information becomes avaiable. Please don’t hang it on the police. Wait until all the facts are in.

  48. I know;
    You sound like Judge Roy Bean with a sign hanging outside your courtroom, **Trial at 11:30, Hanging at Noon**

  49. Let’s be blunt here: who had most to lose in this situation by not backing down? Bryant that is who, times 100x. But for some reason a guy with his supposed brains could not figure this out. He wanted to show his power and impress the little tart beside him so he lost it. Who knows maybe he even hit or nearly took out the cyclist before such that when the guy caught up to the car at the next intersection he (the cyclist) questioned him on what he was doing. He (the driver), Bryant told him to f*ck off (since he has 100x power..), cyclist got into rage due to perceived lack of concern for others and flagrant violation of fules. In a fit of anger he may have approached the driver to point a finger in his face or to get in his face. At this point Bryant seeing the light change decides to drive over his foot and veer into him and maybe over his bicycle. The cyclist fearing for his life grabs onto the car. The driver now realizing he cannot shake off this gutter trash so easily loses it especially as he is now being embarrassed in front of this ‘honey.’ He decides to treat this gutter trash a lesson and in the process loses it. He is so powerful that he is out of control.
    See I can make up stories too, but mine may be the truth.

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