Brosseau works as a manufacturers’ agent for an export and marketing
company in Montreal. He said he came to Kingston for a business meeting.
Brosseau said he was driving his car near Gananoque when he noticed a problem
with its transmission.
He stopped at a car dealership in Gananoque, which put him in touch with
Enterprise Rent-A-Car on Princess Street in Kingston.
Brosseau drove his rental car, a Chevrolet Cobalt, into Kingston and was on Sir
John A. Macdonald Boulevard looking for an exit for Highway 401 when he
rear-ended a motorcycle, he said.
“I was looking for signs and then I looked ahead of me and there was the
motorcyclist,” he said. “I tried to stop but I hit him.”
Brosseau said he wasn’t driving fast and the impact of the collision didn’t
knock the man from his bike.
The two men surveyed the damage to their vehicles, which included scratches on
the Cobalt’s front bumper and a plastic carrying case mounted on the back of
the motorcycle.
A woman who was ahead of the collision pulled over, identified herself as a
nurse and asked if anyone was hurt, Brosseau said.
A Kingston police officer arrived between 10 and 15 minutes later, Brosseau
said.
He said he and the motorcyclist made separate statements in the back of the
police cruiser.
The woman who’d identified herself as a nurse was told that she could leave
after the officer wrote down her name and phone number, he said.
“During all that time I never saw the policeman interview her,” Brosseau
said.
Brosseau said the offensive comments started when the police officer told him
that he was getting a ticket for careless driving.
Brosseau said he asked why he was writing up a ticket.
The officer then said, according to Brosseau, “I don’t know and I don’t
care what you say, I’ve heard it all,” when Brosseau asked how much the
ticket was going to cost.
“Those are direct quotes which are burned in my mind,” Brosseau said.
In the end, Brosseau received a ticket for $325. He said he put a cheque in the
mail on Monday.
On Monday, a Whig-Standard reporter asked a police department clerk, Rob Woolsey,
for a copy of the accident report involving Brosseau’s case.
Woolsey said the report by Const. Adam McMullen isn’t complete and is
unavailable.
McMullen didn’t return calls from a reporter.
Brosseau said he drafted the complaint after faxing Kingston Police Chief Bill
Closs some questions surrounding his accident and not getting a response.
“Right now I feel like it’s out of my depth, out of my hands,” he said.
The fax, dated June 2, included a request for the identity of the motorcyclist
and information on whether he’s a member or associated with an Ontario police
department.
Kingston Police professional standards officer Staff Sgt. Antje McNeely said she
couldn’t comment on Brosseau’s case, but did say she’d look into the
complaint after receiving a copy of it from the commission.
“I’ll do the investigation by taking a statement from the complainant and
any witnesses that were there, as well as the officer,” McNeely said.
A senior investigator for the commission said the complaint will be handed over
to Kingston Police.
Police policy or conduct complaints are first dealt with by the police service
involved, said Margo Boyd, of the commission.
“The chief of police gets the opportunity to resolve the matter in the first
instance,” she said.
Police departments must investigate and render a decision within six months of
receiving a complaint, Boyd said.
The commission becomes involved if the complainant isn’t happy with the
initial decision. An appeal must be filed within 30 days, Boyd said.
Kingston Police investigated 33 complaints in 2004, McNeely said.
Eleven complaints have been filed so far this year, all of which are ongoing.
The commission received 3,110 complaints last year, 562 of which were appealed
after the first stage.
Ottawa Men's Centre
613-797-3237 (797-DADS)