One Tory Who Is Willing To Give Bryant A Chance
September 2, 2009 · By Matthew Campbell
I don’t know if Michael Bryant is guilty or not. I trust the police, in their investigations, to uncover the truth…or at least to present the reasonable possibilities. With stories like this though, I’m happy that we have a justice system like the one we have in Canada. In the hype that has developed since this story broke, we’s witnessed few in the media have stopped long enough to ask the question that needs to be asked: what should someone have done in Bryant’s case?
While the details are still being painted out, what is emerging is the strong possibility, if not reality, that the cyclist who died was willfully holding onto Bryant’s then-hoodless vehicle, and intoxicated. I don’t know about anyone else, but while I wouldn’t purposely try to ram the cyclist into a wall (if that did happen), I certainly wouldn’t know what to do if my pleas with the cyclist to let go of my car fell on deaf ears. Abandoning the vehicle to find the police would risk vandalism to my property, driving off is obviously not an option due to the expectation under the law for citizens to practice due diligence, and doing nothing is also a dangerous situation in and of itself if you are dealing with an intoxicated individual.
Strictly speaking, this story might have a silver lining in that it will bring to the public attention the fact that many stories, too many, are coming out of Toronto of arrogant and dangerously-reckless cyclists who literally think they rule the roads and care not if they put the lives of their neighbours at risk while they skirt around the streets of Toronto. Obviously there are a vast number of good bikers who live there and who do not deserve such criticism, but ignoring the problem in order to appease Ms. Manners have a real possibility after Tuesday of leading to more deaths: it’s worth the discomfort of a discussion! We need to explore if bikers shouldn’t be held to the same account as motor vehicle drivers who use our roads — specifically when it comes to obeying traffic rules and scorning intoxication while driving.
With that in mind, I wish strength and blessings on the Bryant family during this difficult time. May justice truly be done in this case…for all our sakes!
The whole thing, start to finish is a tragedy and as the eyewitness accounts unfold, I am in your camp as well.
I have tried to imagine my self in an enclosed car, vs convertible, top down with a loved one beside me. The enclosed car, provides an entirely different emotion that the convertible would not afford.
The fight and flight instinct, is something that is somewhat unconscious and may have controlled these few minutes with what may have been a blackout or loss of control for the driver.
I am anxious to know as well, if in fact the police sent the bicycle operator on his way. Where does that stack up and perhaps legal limits should be enforced on these operators too.
They use the roads and perhaps it is time to look at some of these risks.
The more info that comes out the more obvious that Bryant made some poor decisions, as a lawyer, as a connected wealthy man, and as an exec and as a retired politician.
I absolutely hear, rc.
My interest though rc, is what about none of the above.
What if his judgement was solely, as a husband?
That is my entire dilemma.
Monday night, former Ontario Attorney-General Michael Bryant barely survived an “assassination attempt”.
Do not be fooled by what Canadian Press it feeding you with in relation to this tragedy
In the drunken and frightened eyes of Mr. Michael Bryant courier Darcy Allan Sheppard was an assassin who must have been stalking Mr. Michael Bryant for a long time. In the frightened eyes of Mr. Michael Bryant, he was the one that intentionally drove his bike into a path of Mr. Michael Bryant’s Saab. In Mr. Bryant’s frightened eyes he was the one who intentionally caused initial accident so he could stop Mr. Michael Bryant’s car and viciously attack and possibly kill Mr. Michael Bryant. This murderous intent was written all over Darcy Allan Sheppard face when he slammed his dirty and filthy knapsack on the hood of Mr. Michael Bryant’s shiny Saab. If that was not a clear signal of a pending assault Darcy Allan Sheppard grabbed, with his filthy fingers, side mirror of Mr. Michael Bryant’s spunky clean Saab. His dirty fingers smeared driver side mirror of Mr. Michael Bryant’s shiny car and his hand was obscuring view in that mirror and was already endangering Mr. Michael Bryant’s life by blinding his rear view. Darcy Allan Sheppard did not let Mr. Michael Bryant drive away in peace despite of the fact that Michael Bryant former Attorney General of Ontario already suffered an insult to his personal dignity and dignity of the public office, that Mr. Bryant represented so diligently not so long ago, when Darcy Allan Sheppard publicly slammed his dirty and filthy knapsack on a hood of Mr. Michael Bryant’s car.
Mr. Michael Bryant could have had Darcy Allan Sheppard arrested on the spot and thrown in jail with one simple phone call and Darcy Allan Sheppard knew it or should have known it. This extreme act of humility that Mr. Michael Bryant have shown by ignoring Darcy Allan Sheppard’s repeated provocations and attempting to leave scene of confrontation without calling the cops would have given everybody else a pause but it did not stop Darcy Allan Sheppard’s aggression against Mr. Michael Bryant.
What was Mr. Michael Bryant suppose to do when his personal safety and his life was endangered by what looked to him as a raging street person most probably drunk or high on drugs.
He did what any other scared midget would have done, he panicked and he tried to disengage himself from the immediate threat to his personal security.
The rest of it; crossing to the other side of the road and frantic attempting to detach would be assailant, and who know if not a paid assassin, was a “reasonable thing to do” considering Darcy Allan Sheppard insistence on holding on to Mr. Bryant’s car and Mr. Bryant’s personality.
After all, it is not Mr. Bryant’s fault that he is a midget who lived his entire life scared of the other, bigger men. It is not his fault that his fear of other, bigger men governed his entire life and drove him to become Attorney General of Ontario so he could hide his fears of other men behind cordons of police, authority of judges and iron bars of Ontario prisons.
In rough and tumble of Canadian politics; fears, obsessions, and sexual perversions are never properly diagnosed and treated by psychiatrists, they are rewarded with high public offices, and this is as true for scarecrow Michael Bryant becoming Attorney General of Ontario as it is for lesbian with homosexual son Kathleen Wynne becoming Ontario Minister of Education, former whore Carole Curtis becoming a family judge, pedophile William Holt Wehrspann becoming child psychiatrist and family court expert in children’s “false allegations” of sexual abuse, vengeful homosexual Harvey Brownstone becoming a judge sitting in North York Family Court, raging homosexual James Cantor becoming scientist of sorts, CAMH researcher and an expert in pedophilia, just to name the few perverts on government jobs.
In the end Mr. Michel Bryant will never serve a day in jail for killing an innocent man but that is the order of things in Ontario .
BTW, his will not be the biggest outrage as his predecessor and now dead promoter Ian Scott also killed at least one person his homosexual partner Kim Yakabuski, brother of sitting MPP John Yakabuski, by repeatedly sodomizing him until Kim died of AIDS in 1993.
Even that outrage does not break the record, here is something we should be upset about:
When homosexuals murder heterosexuals in Canada they never spend any time in prison. Even the fact of homosexuality of the murderer is never mentioned in Canadian press. The fact that homosexual mentioned below lured his victim to his own apartment in the middle of the night with the promise of free drugs and intent to sodomize his victim is barely even mentioned. The fact that the victim tried to escape, and the fact that homosexual killer choked him to death, in the stairwell of apartment building, in order to avoid getting reported to police, identified and charged with sexual assault, got converted by homosexual reporter working for the Toronto Star into heroic attempt to make citizens arrest of crazed drug addicted robber that ended in accidental death, and I swear that I am not making it all up.
See:
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/299599
Nurse avoids jail in killing
Feb 01, 2008 12:38 PM
Peter Small
Courts Bureau
A male nurse who made a citizen’s arrest by grabbing a cocaine-intoxicated robber by the neck, unintentionally causing his death has been given a suspended sentence.
Provincial court Justice William Wolski gave Norman English an 18-month suspended sentence Thursday after he pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm. The judge said it was ironic that someone who has dedicated much of his career to preserving life would be involved in taking one.
The court found that English used excessive force in a reckless manner.
The 47-year-old nurse, who works with a transplant team at a major Toronto teaching hospital, was originally charged with manslaughter in the death of Stephen MacEachern, but the court accepted his guilty plea to assault causing bodily harm.
Outside court, defence lawyer Frank Gabriel said his client was very happy with the sentence. The judge was “terrifically fair,” Gabriel said. English declined comment.
But MacEachern’s spouse, Debbie, who asked that her last name not be used, said the sentence is not fair, considering a life was lost.
In the early hours of Sept. 22, 2006, English met MacEachern, 45, at a downtown Toronto bar and the two went to his apartment near Yonge and Carlton Sts. After they arrived, MacEachern shoved English to the ground and stole his wallet, court heard.
English gave chase and caught MacEachern in the building’s stairwell. As they struggled, he used his arm to grip MacEachern by the neck, while shouting for police. When English got off the man, he noticed he wasn’t moving. Building security officers arrived and used CPR to try to revive MacEachern.
Unknown to English, the man was very high on cocaine and died on the scene. The cause of death was pressure exerted on the neck of a person with acute cocaine addiction.
The judge said English was reckless in the way he went about retrieving his wallet, but he did not know MacEachern was acutely intoxicated. “I am satisfied that Mr. English should be punished but I am also satisfied that he is a person unlikely to reoffend.”
English has expressed great remorse, the judge said.
During the 18 months, English must take counselling, do 35 hours of community service, and consume no alcohol or controlled drugs.
Although English had assault and drunk driving convictions nearly two decades old, he is now “a contributing member of society,” Wolski said.
Karol,
I must say that a bit of skepticism is always healthy. Thanks for you insight.
Anyway, Matthew, thanks for this post. My first instinct when I heard this story was to condemn Bryant but now I am squarely in your camp. It really makes no sense to think Bryant would further jeopardize his own life by weaving into ongoing traffic just to kill the cyclist. Only a stupid person would see that as probable.
I am not the best driver myself but I know how difficult it is to concentrate when a juice box is thrown at my head. I can not imagine how I would react with a stranger trying to put me in a head lock. It makes perfect sense to give Bryant the benefit of the doubt that his weaving was a result of him compensating for a drunkard grabbing at the wheel.
As far as I am concerned, the only thing that Bryant did which is wrong was being a Liberal.
Where is the Polish Government when we really need it??
Where is pissed off Polish Consul rear ending the Fire Truck??
Darcy Allan Sheppard’s murder is morphing into Robert Dziekanski murder with every passing day.
At least Polish Government’s intervention kept the fixer Richard Peck off Dzieknski’s case.
http://www2.canada.com/victori.....38;k=52201, January 05, 2006,
Trials connected to legislature raid about to start :
“… Lawyer Richard Peck of Vancouver said Wednesday that a charge of conspiracy to traffic marijuana against Sandhu was stayed on Nov. 7, presumably,
Peck said, because of a lack of evidence against his client. …”
http://www.nationalpost.com/re.....id=1362648 , March 06, 2009 :
“… Richard Peck told a provincial court judge in Toronto that “there is no reasonable prospect of conviction” against Constables Gail Shields and Paul Clarke.
Mr. Peck was retained as a special prosecutor in the latest chapter of an incident in October, 2007, that has strained relations between Toronto police and the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney-General.
Crown attorney Roger Shallow was arrested by the two officers in the entertainment district in Toronto. The prosecutor, who works in a special guns and gangs unit, was charged with assault and causing a disturbance.
The province retained an outside lawyer, Jeanine LeRoy, to prosecute Mr. Shallow. She withdrew the charges nearly 15 months later.
The Toronto police union and Chief Bill Blair complained publicly when the charges were dropped by Ms. LeRoy, who is the former law partner of Ontario Attorney-General Chris Bentley.
In the meantime, Mr. Shallow convinced a justice of the peace to approve criminal charges against the two officers. This is the right of any individual. Once a charge is approved by a justice of the peace though, it is up to the Crown to decide whether to proceed with the prosecution.
The Ministry of the Attorney-General initially assigned the case to a prosecutor in North Bay. After the withdrawal of charges became public, it retained Mr. Peck, who has acted in such high-profile cases as the Air India trial and who is frequently called on by the B.C. government to be a special prosecutor.
“My intention was to engage in charge screening,” said Mr. Peck in court Friday. After interviewing many witness, he concluded it was appropriate to ask that the charges be withdrawn against the officer.
The October 2007 incident that led to the arrest of Mr. Shallow was described as “emotionally charged” by Mr. Peck.
The scene in a downtown Toronto provincial courtroom was slightly unusual as Scott Fenton, a high-profile local defence lawyer, had to act as “agent” for Mr. Peck, since he is not licensed to practice in Ontario.
The two lawyers declined to make any further comment about the case. They smiled when asked if the two lawyers were receiving more than the $1000 that Legal Aid Ontario would normally pay any counsel to defend an assault case.
The decision to drop the charges “vindicates” the officers, said their lawyer David Butt . The officers were “on duty” which is why they were not in court on Friday, their lawyer explained.
While “there is no question who is paying the bill” to retain two high-profile lawyers as prosecutors, Mr. Butt said that the involvement of Mr. Peck showed it was a “truly independent” decision. [ looooooooooool :-))))))))))))))))))))) ]
Today’s press
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/690308
Bryant’s custody stay rapped
STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR
Former Ontario attorney general Michael Bryant enters police Traffic Headquarters on Hanna Road, Sept. 1, 2009.
Everyone else would have appeared unshaven and dishevelled in bail court, everyone – unless you’re a cop, or you’re an important politician,” said veteran defence lawyer Edward Sapiano yesterday.
But Bryant was not sent to bail court; he was released on his own recognizance and allowed to go home directly from the police traffic services division in Liberty Village. The 43-year-old is being charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death. His first court date is not until Oct. 19….
Lawyer Jonathan Rosenthal speculated his release might have been dictated by practical considerations, because all the provincial Crowns, judges and justices of the peace likely to deal with the case were appointed by provincial attorneys-general.
Bryant probably spent more time in a cell than the average person, because investigators had trouble on the court side of things, due to potential conflict of interest with prosecutors.
“We had to find a Crown that was willing to consult on it,” said Sgt. Tim Burrows.
Luckily, prominent B.C. lawyer Richard Peck was already in Brampton attending a meeting dealing with the prosecution of OPP Sgt. Michael Rutigliano. Peck met with Toronto police at Old City Hall provincial court Tuesday morning to discuss what the appropriate charges might be.
****On Monday around 9:30 p.m., Bryant and his wife were driving along Bloor St. when they were involved in a “minor” incident with a cyclist. Witnesses allege the cyclist, Darcy Allan Sheppard, chased Bryant and grabbed hold of the driver’s side door. Police allege Bryant took off, crossed into the oncoming lane and mounted the curb, dragging the cyclist along. Sheppard eventually fell between 50 and 100 metres down the road, after he struck a mailbox and a tree, witnesses say. He died later.***
========================
Just few months ago:
More troubles in Paradise: OPP did not warn Attorney General of Ontario that they were investigating Crown Attorney in a corruption probe.
This cannot be, this is treason, is this for real? OPP launched direct attack at Legal Mafia from Osgoode Hall.
Common courtesy among criminals requires that, when they do this window dressing investigations in order to appease public unrest caused by persistent rumours about blatant corruption in Ontario legal system, they call and warn everybody who is not their designated target to stay away and keep their noses clean for as long as the investigation is under way.
I do not know if Julian Fantino cut some type of a deal with Stephen Harper and he is going to become next chief of RCMP or is he acting out of pure vengeance and wants to pay Ontario judicial system back for recent public humiliation that Justice Leonard Montgomery put him thru but it seems that Fantino boys are going after the Ontario Superior Court Judge John Hamilton as well.
See:
http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/561407
Chris Bentley seems to be panicking as he made an unusual move and in addition to bringing in a “fixer” from BC Richard Peck, he also appointed former judge and integrity commissioner Coulter Osborne who will report to chief prosecutor John Ayre, who is also assistant deputy attorney general to oversee the prosecution.
Chris Bentley’s attempts to keep lid on things and confine all the dirt inside of Attorney General’s Offices on Bay Street in Toronto look more and more pathetic as hours go by. By the look of things Fantino will ask for Federal prosecutors and he most likely will get them. Bentley would have fared much better if he were to bring in Deputy Crown Attorney from the other province.
Stay tuned.
See:
http://www.thestar.com/gta/crime/article/634817
New charge in conspiracy case
RENE JOHNSTON/TORONTO STAR
Frank D’Angelo is seen outside the University Ave. courthouse in Toronto after being acquitted on a sexual assault charge. (April 21, 2009) May 15, 2009 10:01 AM
Betsy Powell
Courts Bureau
Beverage entrepreneur Frank D’Angelo has been charged with conspiring to obstruct justice in relation to his sex assault case….
I don’t blame Bryant one bit and consider that I would have reacted similarly had I been in his situation.
Whoa Mark, are you sure you want to go that far?
I agree with the implication of Matthew’s post, that we don’t have enough information to determine what actually happened, and, thus, it is reasonable to believe that Mr. Sheppard might bear some or all responsibility for his death; however, I would stop short of saying that I’d have done what Bryant did – precisely because we don’t have enough information to determine what actually happened.
Further, assuming, arguendo, that Mr. Bryant bears no culpability, it does not follow, necessarily, that his actions were the only recourse. Just because one can use extreme force for self defense in a particular situation, does not mean that extreme force is the only option.
Had I been in such a situation as Mr. Bryant’s (again, assuming he is innocent), I would hope that I could have found a non-violent (or, at least, less violent) way to escape it. I make no claims that I could have, but it is still my hope.
And I hope, whether guilty or not, Mr. Bryant wishes he could have, too.
I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt to the person being attacked. If it is found that Bryant was being attacked physically, the lethality of his reaction shouldn’t be the determination factor considering his “crime”. In fact, from what I’ve read, I wouldn’t consider anything Bryant did a crime.
Seriously, innocent people shouldn’t have to worry about the amount of force (or type of physical reaction) being applied to the assailant when being assaulted.
Consider this, if the tables were turned – if Bryant would have been dragged from the car and beaten to death by the hands of this cyclist, this probably wouldn’t have been reported as widely as it has.
And that would have been the real tragedy.
I didn’t mean to dispute this idea – I’m pretty much on board. My point was that I hope people would rather not use deadly force if they don’t have to. I was not my intention to imply that killing an assailant automatically turns self defense into a crime.
There are enough exculpatory factors here that Bryant will ultimately be found innocent. But, of course, Bryant has the resources to see the case through to a resolution: He can afford a top lawyer and, ahem, a public relations firm. The vast majority of people would plead out and head off to jail.
Agreed – deadly force should always been the last option. In this case, I just hope that the fact that the assailant died doesn’t mean Bryant is now the criminal.
Ø George Orwell’s Broadcasting Corporation
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News:
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Kamchatka, peninsula
September 1, 1983
Ø
Soviet heat seeking missile flying on a peaceful mission over Russian territory was hit in midair by a Korean jumbo jet 747spy plane with 269 American spies on board. There was no loss of Soviet life in that incident but the missile however was completely destroyed.
Ø
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
September 3, 2009
Ø
Michael Bryant former Attorney General of Ontario fell a victim of a suicidal cyclist.
All of you people seem to be totally confused about what actually too place on Monday night in downtown Toronto.
Darcy Allan Sheppard had unstable personal relationships (father of four kids with different women) and serious drinking problem. He was just trying to move back in with his current girlfriend.
When he was at her place Toronto cops were called in to have him removed from her apartment an hour before his tragic death.
It is quite obvious that Darcy Allan Sheppard was a severe case of Borderline Personality Disorder. Suicide rate among people suffering from BPD is very high. Sheppard was drunk and was thrown out of his girlfriend’s apartment by Toronto cops so it was natural that was depressed to a point that he was suicidal. (We will have psychiatric expert swear in court to that effect)
First he tried to get himself run over by Michael Bryant’s car and when that did not pan out as he planned it he started a confrontation with Michel Bryant over nothing (minor damage to a wheel of his bike). He escalated this confrontation by getting off the bike and slamming his knapsack on a hood of Michael Bryan’s car. Mr. Bryant got scared and stepped on the gas in order to get away. At that moment Darcy Allan Sheppard grabbed a steering wheel of Mr. Bryant’s car and steered it to the other side of the road and than he steered it in such a way so he would collide with the trunks of the trees, mail box and finally the fire hydrant in order to kill himself. (We will have police experts swear in court to that effect)
It is obvious to anybody that took the time and effort to read press reports that Darcy Allan Sheppard committed vehicular suicide and he tried to use Michael Bryant’s car to that effect on two separate occasions.
Mystery solved, Michael Bryant is not guiltier of Darcy Allan Sheppard death than a bus driver or a subway train operators is guilty of a death of a person that jumps in front of a bus or a subway train.
All of you people who are trying to rationalise Mr. Bryant’s behaviour during last Monday’s tragic incident should be ashamed of yourself. Don’t you know how traumatic it must have been for Mr. Bryant and his wife to be suckered into somebody’s suicide attempt?? Any efforts aimed at trying to rationalise something that such an exemplary lawyer and such an upstanding citizen like Michael Bryant have never done just ads an insult to his already grievous injury.
Still, I doubt he’ll ever be able to resurrect any chance he had to be Ontario Liberal leader after this, which, if he’s innocent, isn’t very fair to a man who has worked so hard towards that goal!
I am driving in downtown Montreal on a daily basis and if bike couriers in Toronto are anything like the ones in Montreal, they don’t belong on the road.
That being said, we’ll need to wait for all of the details to come out before we know exactly who’s to blame.
If anyone reached inside my car, or attacked me while I was driving and ultimately ended up getting killed in the process, I don’t think I would feel responsible for it.
It’s unfortunate that someone died but sometimes the victim just is not using good judgement at all.
Bryant hit Sheppard onto the hood of his car, drove 30 feet and tried to take off. His explanation of his actions makes no sense. He has been boxing since he was a boy, brags about liking to knock his opponent out by the third round, but claims he was afraid of a drunken cyclist in front of his car, causing him to temporarily become an incompetent driver?
The construction workers who witnessed Bryant speeding down the wrong side of the street and onto the sidewalk were very clear in their opinion that Darcy was hanging on for dear life and that Bryant purposely trying the ram him into objects. To them it was a clear case of road rage on Bryant’s part and one of them described him as not being ‘all there.’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8UKQW225gI
The mass media has done a dreadful job of covering this story. We might as well get our information directly from Bryant’s PR firm.