Remember that road rage incident that was caught on video? The assailant, Darius Tierman, was identified and arrested. It turns out Constable Darius Tierman is a 21-year veteran on the Toronto Police Force. He's been charged with assault causing bodily harm and has been released on $5000 bail, along with an order to -- get this -- continue psychiatric care.
The cyclist, Andre Sokol, seems pretty mellow about the whole thing: "Tell [Tierman] this from my heart. I'm telling you this from my heart. I feel sorry for him and ... tell him I said God bless him.
You've noticed by now a couple of posts from my long-time friend John Ardelli. We've known each other in the online realm for a few years now, mostly through the ICEBIKE mailing list. John lives, works, and cycles in Sydney, Nova Scotia. He's very enthusiastic and positive about everything he's involved in. He actually filled in for me a few times on Cyclelicious previously, and I'm glad to see him back. John also blogs at The Pedaling Prince.
Why "The Pedaling Prince?" The name originated with an article for The Atlantic Pedaler. They profiled John as "Commuter of the Month" for March/April 2006. They called him "The Pedaling Prince of Sydney." Shortly after, Rides Captain Jaques Cote of Velo Cape Breton started calling him that. The name stuck. :)
9 comments:
Hey, I was just going to give you the heads up on this one but as usual you're on top of it. As you may know, I'm from Toronto and I instantly recognized that corner as Queen and Bay which is across from Toronto's City Hall/ Nathan Philips Square. Just goes to show that not all Canadians are not as civlized as you may think ;)
I figure the whole citizen video journalism angle probably interested you, Steve.
Thanks for the welcome, Fritz! Also, thanks for promoting my blog! I was wondering how I was going to slip that in... :P
You mean the very person who is suppose to protect cyclists-pedestrians is the guilty one? Unfortunately, this attack is indicative of an attittude that pervades law enfocement. Cyclists are those x-hippies, social outcasts, etc. and should be harassed and not protected. Otherwise, all those drivers of motorized vehicles will get angry and not support the status quo.
Until leadership rides to work, this problem with its numerous and ugly ramifications will continue underneath the surface of perception.
whaddya mean, ex-hippies?
I missed the previous post about this. I'm just stunned and horrified by the whole thing. I hope that "cop" loses his badge.
All I want to do is ride my bike and not be assaulted. Aparently that's too much to ask. The silly thing is that we're doing them a favor by riding: one less car for them to negotiate, less pollution, etc.
Dr. Logan, I think "negotiation" is the problem. I think these idiots would rather negotiate with another car because the car goes fast, so getting stuck behind one doesn't slow them down...
These people need to be reminded that these are roads, not race tracks. :(
that's simply not true. when i drive I wait behind cars far more often than I wait behind bikes. plus, I've never had to wait behind a cyclist for more than a few seconds, and often find myself stuck behind cars going under the speed limit on the highway for a long time. they just need to pull their heads out of their asses.
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