Former Ontario attorney general Michael Bryant is reportedly being
interviewed in connection with the death of a cyclist in downtown Toronto.
"The person that we have [in custody] is merely under investigation. There
have been no formal charges laid," said Toronto police spokesman Sgt. Tim
Burrows.
Michael
Bryant sits in the back of a Toronto police cruiser.
(Tony Smyth/CBC)
Police will not confirm that Bryant was the driver of a car involved in
the incident. nor would they say if charges are pending.
But they have told CBC News that homicide detectives have been called in
to investigate because of the "complex nature" of the incident, which began
near the corner of Bloor Street West and Bay Street at about 9:45 p.m. ET on
Monday night.
"There was some sort of altercation between the two people involved in
this investigation, which has ended in, unfortunately, the death of a
cyclist," said Burrows.
In an interview with CBC News, Sgt. Tim Burrows described what led to the
cyclist's death as a "minor collision" between the bicycle and a black Saab.
"The cyclist ended up on the side of the car, holding on, and the driver
continued along, driving westbound on Bloor Street [West]."
Burrows could not explain why the driver crossed lanes of traffic and
drove up onto the curb.
"I don't want to try to say why the driver did that, only the driver
knows exactly why he was, but he was travelling westbound in the eastbound
lanes," he said.
Police forensic identification services have been asked to check for
evidence.
A number of witnesses have come forward, police say, but they want anyone
who saw anything to contact them.
"We had seven witnesses that identified themselves to police last night,
having seen the events that transpired. As in any investigation, however,
the more witnesses we have, the better," said Burrows.
Damage
is visible on the Saab allegedly involved in the incident.
(Tony Smyth/CBC)
The witnesses said it appeared as though the driver was attempting to
knock the cyclist off by brushing against trees and mailboxes on Bloor
Street, approaching Avenue Road.
Police said the cyclist sustained severe injuries after striking a
mailbox and a tree while still hanging onto the car.
Witnesses said the 33-year-old cyclist, who has not been identified, fell
off, was dragged and then run over by the rear wheels of the vehicle.
He was rushed to Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital but died of severe head
injuries, according to police.
The cyclist was pronounced dead shortly after 11 p.m., police said.
Other evidence includes security camera images from stores along a
stretch of one of Toronto's wealthiest business strips.
"We actually have viewed two videos that were provided to us by two
different businesses along Bloor Street. We have officers right now on Bloor
Street canvassing some of the other stores ... to see if they have any video
that their systems may have captured," said Burrows.
911 calls made
Police said several 911 calls were made during the incident. One call
came from the driver of the vehicle.
Police spotted the suspect car after it pulled into into the nearby Hyatt
Hotel. Bryant was later seen in the back of a police cruiser.
Bryant, now 43, was first elected as the Liberal MPP for St. Paul's in
1999 and won re-election in 2003, becoming the province's youngest-ever
attorney general at the time, and in 2007. He also served as aboriginal
affairs minister and minister of economic development.
Bryant resigned from politics in May this year to become president and
CEO of Invest Toronto, chaired by Toronto's mayor.
A byelection to replace Bryant as MPP for the riding of St. Paul's is
scheduled for Sept. 17.
The CBC went crazy with censorship on this story. Out of 10 posts submitted,
ONE made it. Many other posts were pulled or were no longer to be found, it
appears they had been removed for one reason or another, reasons that the CBC
did not share with readers.
Over the last few years, Bryant has shown a change in personality. He conduct
was enough to raise eyebrows and to have him booted from politics. He was simply
incapable of being the AG any longer and he had to go.
All those semi bizarre behaviours show someone who is flying high one minute, in
absolute belief of his own self confidence and in some other world devoid of
recognition of just how badly he shot his mouth off.
You might even call it the sort of behaviour associated with being bi-polar, and
IF that is what is later concluded, it will beg questions about how and why
mental health problems are treated as a Taboo subject. Its society's failure to
deal with mental health problems when they first become apparent, that
frequently results in a trail of destruction, if not criminal behaviour.
The Toronto Police seem to be taking a very very very long time before deciding
if to lay charges, or release him.
Bryant is firstly a lawyer, and one thing is for certain, he will not qualify
for legal aid and Bryant will be able to afford the best there is which may have
something to do with the incredible time delay in laying charges or releasing
him. The Toronto police, are unlikely to release him without charge, its the
decision on Which Charge that will become a focus of attention.
Anything less than murder will not be particularly well received but, what do
you expect with a former politician and Attorney General of the present
government run by lawyers for lawyers.
Lets hope that the actions of the Toronto Police and the Attorney General of
Ontario will be watched very carefully -
www.OttawaMensCentre.com
When the trial is over, Michael Bryant can look forward to being one of the
most sought after jail house lawyers around. Not only is he an experienced
lawyer, he comes with all the right connections that will ensure his jail
canteen account will never run dry.
When and IF , Mr. Bryant gets to see inside of a jail, he will meet thousands
upon thousands of innocent men, in jail for failing to pay child support, child
support based on fictitious incomes that never existed or support that father's
could not pay due to unemployment and simply not having enough money to afford a
lawyer.
Mr. Bryant has turned a blind eye to Ontario's policy of Male Gender Apartheid
and IF, he gets to spend some time in jail, hopefully he will learn some of the
realities of just how dysfunctional Ontario Justice really is.
www.OttawaMensCentre.com
It brings the administration of justice, into "ill-repute", when there is
such a very long delay in the laying of charges.
The Toronto Police and Mr. Bryant have been buddies on the same team for a long
time. Mr. Bryant was and is "one of them". They are buddies going back a long
way.
Back in 1971, a Constable Joe Harwood of Timmins "found" his wife strangled. The
police at that time were also "looking for witnesses".
There is a big difference between Timmins and Toronto , 1971 and 2009. In
Timmins, being a witness against the local police was and is not a very good
idea. In DownTown Toronto, there were just too-many witnesses.
Now, it appears that the Police are "still looking". Wow, maybee they have not
heard the right story yet?
It has all the signs and symptoms of a police force "looking for the right
witnesses", ones who will tell the story that the Toronto Police "want to hear".
The longer the delay in the laying of charges, the more justice is denied and
the greater the insult to intelligence of Canadians.
Don't expect justice in this case.
www.OttawaMensCentre.com