Pit Bull Ban Author Fail!
Is schadenfreude ever excusable? I hope so, because I’m having a serious case of it right now….
Ontario’s Former AG Michael Bryant-Author of Bill 132 in Trouble
Former Ontario attorney general Michael Bryant is being questioned by police this morning after a cyclist was struck and killed last night.
Bryant was taken into custody following the incident and police are trying to determine whether to charge him, said Sgt. Tim Burrows. Police did say alcohol was not involved.
Burrows would not confirm witness reports the cyclist jumped on the car after a collision around 9:45 p.m. on Bloor St., just west of St. Thomas St., and began fighting with the driver of a black Saab.
Witnesses said the cyclist hung onto the driver’s side of the car, which had its convertible top down, while the driver allegedly yelled at him to get off.
The vehicle was driving on the wrong side of the road and drove up on to a curb trying to knock the cyclist off for about 100 metres, witnesses said.
“Lots of people were watching and they couldn’t believe what was happening,” said Ryan Brazeau, a worker with a crew laying sewer pipes on Bloor.
Yeah, I guess this is the guy we should all be listening to when it comes to dangerous dog legislation. Takes one to know one, it seems.
Or, as Kate put it over on the small dead animals blog,
Since the law’s enactment in 2005, pit bulls have killed fewer Ontarians than former attorney general Michael Bryant;
“Burrows could not explain why the driver crossed lanes of traffic and drove up onto the curb.”
Well, duh. Obviously he thought it was a Pit Bull attached to his car.
Hmmm such a shining example….instead of laying charges, neuter him and make him wear a muzzle in public. Oh and I guess we’ll have to do that to the current AG and all AG’s that come after. Cuz you know if one is bad they must all be bad.
mmm schadenfreude – tastes like chocolate!
That’s…wow. I thought, “Hit and run…maybe he clipped the bike and panicked, could happen to anyone, maybe the bike swerved into him to avoid a drain grate…” But no, it’s, “Drove recklessly trying to shake off angry cyclist, ended up killing him.”
Clearly this man is someone who makes poor and reactionary decisions. If he’d stopped, the cyclist would have been charged with assault and would still be alive.
This guy is more dangerous than any pitbull or staffordshire terrier I met up to now. And I mean dangerous in his way to react to altercations and dangerous in his way to edict laws. The bill 132 is as poor as his reaction yesterday night. When I think about all those poor animals that are jailed or killed just because of their breed or the way they look… It just makes me mad to think that this guy will probably escape the law with a good lawyer. There is a lot of injustice in this world. I am just hoping (?) that he would learn something from this experience. I would like him to say what he would think about applying to himself what he applies to the poor animals: one bite, death sentence.
Well, like you said, maybe he would say that he thought the cyclist was a pitbull???!!!!! Can poor judgment ever be cured?
I have disliked Mr. Bryant since his whole “I am banning everything” phase in politics. I was particularly disgusted over his ignorance concerning Bill 132 and always felt it was political posturing.
I agree with the other bloggers…..he sent dogs to be killed for biting someone whereas here he is having killed a man and will no doubt take the cowards way out and say he felt threatened. I also sense a media assault on Mr. Sheppard, the victim, as they’re already speculating that he was drunk. Nothing has been determined, an autopsy has yet to be performed and yet they’ve already jumped on that bandwagon. It’s sad.
I am not at all surprised at what Bryant did as he seemed very reactionary (as stated above) to begin with AND as if he was above it all. I certainly hope the courts appoint a special prosecutor to try this case (as I am sure it will go to trial) and that Mr. Bryant serves the maximum sentence followed with a civil suit to be paid to the victims family! There is NO excuse for what he did. None! Mr. Bryant, by accounts thus far and video made public, courted a confrontation by choosing to HIT the cyclists bike after words were exchanged and he had options available to him such as calling the police before things got out of control. Instead, he chose to react as he did and deliberately cause injury to the cyclist which resulted in death.
I wonder what his tough take no prisioners attitude would be if he wasn’t involved with this but rather sitting in judgement. I bet he’d want to reform a law and make an example of the driver….And I say, lets do just that!
Obnoxious bicyclists – squeegee guys – freaked out motorists This is what city living is – the everyday grist sitcom writers twist into laughter – but I can’t remember a Seinfeld episode ending in waves of warm laughter rolling over applause as Jerry’s Saab drags some guy to his death. Let’s try and separate the issues.
It comes down to the moment when the situation went from everyday aggravation event we’ve all encountered like – who bumped who – who yelled at who – your mother wears combat boots….. No matter who did what or said what – we’ve all had these situations and the moment is suppose to end with some yelling and a paint scratch – a court appearance and fine for either Michael Bryant or D’Arcy Sheppard. Between that moment and the ambulance arrival is where it gets big. There are hundreds of people including officials on the phone right now trying to steer the outcome. Who are these people and how will their interference affect the outcome.
I once had my own cyclist freak out moment (well, Tessa did). We were on a side street off of Avenue Road, stopped at a stop light, when a cyclist rode up next to me, and leaned his arm into my open passenger side window. Two seconds later, 20 lbs of pissed of French Bulldog launched herself at him, barking and generally telling him the canine equivalent of “Get the hell off of my lawn!”.
The unnerved cyclist leaped back, and fell over onto the curb. I admit it – I laughed. The unhurt cyclist got up and was vehemently swearing at me. We let is slide – no harm, no foul, and his angry reaction was an understandable combination of adrenaline and embarrassment. As many have said, in a conflict between car and driver, car will always win, leaving us as car drivers to always have to choose to walk away from confrontation.
I also am expecting this whole thing to be spun into a scenario that basically can be summed up as “He had it comin’ to him”. Just like the Pit Bulls, actually.
I like Kate McMillan’s summary of the incident:
“September 1, 2009
Ontario Pit Bull Ban Deemed A Success
Since the law’s enactment in 2005, pit bulls have killed fewer Ontarians than former attorney general Michael Bryant”
Or to calculate it another way:
Fatal attacks in Ontario:
Pitbulls: 0
Michael Bryant: 1
Number of Ontarians killed by pitbulls since ban: 0
Number of pitbull bike drivers killed by banner of pitbulls: 1
Edmonton media is all over this, since the victim is a former Edmontonian, with a police history. Still doesn’t excuse Bryant driving on the wrong side of the road, up on the curb, to brush the guy against street poles and eventually bang him against a mailbox to get him off his car.
And they say pitbulls have aggression issues …
Maybe we should have all killers neutered, muzzled in public.
Then since we should do it to the whole bred, his children, Louis and Sadie should be also subject to these rules. Do you think that that kind of rule would hold in court not likely, yet they continue to rain genocide on a bred of dogs.