No charges warranted in fatal motorcycle crash involving Toronto police cruiser: SIU

Is there seriosuly nothing else they could have charged him with? Why did they only try to go for "dangerous driving causing death?"

I highly doubt a civilian would walk away from this with no charges.
 
caje said:
Is there seriosuly nothing else they could have charged him with? Why did they only try to go for "dangerous driving causing death?"

I highly doubt a civilian would walk away from this with no charges.
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Because then they can say they did their jobs while ensuring no consequences. Being serious, SIU's mandate is to determine if criminal charges are warranted. In this case, based on the description in the article, I agree with their decision. Local police force should have laid a careless charge at the scene as with any other driver.
 
If the charges stuck the rank and file blue would have shown their displeasure by choosing to not issue any providential offense notices for a time.
This would have been a substantial hit to revenue and due to the current crisis...
 
the wording alone in this paragraph says how the media looked at it. I would think the car struck the bike if he made an illegal turn. also states the bike ran a red ight

At 5:35 p.m., an officer in a cruiser was making a left-hand turn from College Street onto University Avenue when a motorcycle struck the vehicle in the intersection.
 
How do they know the motorcycle ran a red? Seems to me if the bike ran the red, so did the cop. Camera footage? Sounds like BS. If the motorcyclist was at fault, that doesn't absolve the officer of breaking the law with a prohibited left. Sounds like negligence. Really getting sick of the SIU and the way they make excuses for officers who are idiots.
 
Roadghost said:
How do they know the motorcycle ran a red? Seems to me if the bike ran the red, so did the cop. Camera footage? Sounds like BS. If the motorcyclist was at fault, that doesn't absolve the officer of breaking the law with a prohibited left. Sounds like negligence. Really getting sick of the SIU and the way they make excuses for officers who are idiots.
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I don't but the article says he did.

“He entered the intersection lawfully on a green light and was proceeding into his turn as the lights for east and westbound traffic turned red when his cruiser was struck. On this record, though it is perhaps fair to say that the collision would not have occurred but for the (officer’s) imprudent left-hand turn, it is also fair to observe that he was in no way responsible for the (motorcyclist’s) decision to enter the intersection on a red light at speed.”
 
Roadghost said:
How do they know the motorcycle ran a red? Seems to me if the bike ran the red, so did the cop. Camera footage? Sounds like BS. If the motorcyclist was at fault, that doesn't absolve the officer of breaking the law with a prohibited left. Sounds like negligence. Really getting sick of the SIU and the way they make excuses for officers who are idiots.
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That's not a criminal charge though. You or I wouldnt get one either. SIU gets to limit mandate to criminal and normal force gets to point to SIU until a lot of time has passed and then not bother charging for hta offence.
 
Roadghost said:
How do they know the motorcycle ran a red? Seems to me if the bike ran the red, so did the cop. Camera footage? Sounds like BS. If the motorcyclist was at fault, that doesn't absolve the officer of breaking the law with a prohibited left. Sounds like negligence. Really getting sick of the SIU and the way they make excuses for officers who are idiots.
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How do you know that the cop was making a left turn or that the motorcycle was speeding?
Possibly the red light camera was in operation, and they could clock the bike's velocity in the 40 (or is it 30 now?) zone.
Do you selectively agree with what the report says?

Something doesn't make sense though.

University is ten lanes across (including the median), so someone traveling east and running a red there, isn't going to make it past the northbound traffic anyway; the opposing traffic would have a green long before you made it.
 
If anyone bothers to read the article it says quite clearly that the motorcycle ran the read light and was speeding. At most the officer was guilty of disobeying the sign showing no left turns allowed. And a civilian would have likely only got that ticket if charged, and nothing else.

The SIU are not pro police and if their had been the slightest evidence of a criminal offence they would have charged the officer.
 
Roadghost said:
How do they know the motorcycle ran a red? Seems to me if the bike ran the red, so did the cop. Camera footage? Sounds like BS. If the motorcyclist was at fault, that doesn't absolve the officer of breaking the law with a prohibited left. Sounds like negligence. Really getting sick of the SIU and the way they make excuses for officers who are idiots.
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So you think the SIU are the friends of the police? It’s the opposite. If there had been the slightest evidence of a criminal offence the officer would have been charged.
 
GMAN said:
So you think the SIU are the friends of the police? It’s the opposite. If there had been the slightest evidence of a criminal offence the officer would have been charged.
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The left hand turn in front of oncoming traffic is the oldest motorcycle accident in the book. The acronym is SMIDSY (sorry mate I didn't see you). It's well documented in the Hurt Report on motorcycle fatalities. In a property only accident I could see a couple of tickets handed out and the insurance handles the rest. When someone is killed it becomes a criminal matter. In this particular case we are led to believe a motorcyclist ran a red. I find that too convenient without hard proof. The officer, a law enforcement professional likely familiar with traffic accidents, who must be held to a higher standard than other drivers, made a conscious decision to break a traffic rule knowing what the consequences could be. If they can't charge him with criminal negligence causing death, he should at least lose his job.
 
GMAN said:
So you think the SIU are the friends of the police? It’s the opposite. If there had been the slightest evidence of a criminal offence the officer would have been charged.
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The SIU is an agency put in place by the provincial government to create the illusion of justice.
The number of cases where an on-duty officer is charged with a criminal offence can be counted on one hand.
The onus in a situation like this is 'who was the last one who could have avoided the incident' ?
The officer was making an illegal left hand turn for no reason other than convenience over multiple lanes of traffic - should it have been the motorcyclist's responsibility to be extra diligent for such an overt act ?
I don't think so, but the SIU apparently does not agree.
 
Sounds odd that the police car could enter the intersection on a green and turn left in front of a motorcycle that entered on a red. The cop's direction can't have been in advanced green or delayed green if a left turn was illegal from that direction. Cop may have been waiting for traffic to stop before turning.
 
"Qualified Immunity"

It is just like having Diplomatic from another Country. You break the law and will not have any consequences?.
 
The sentiment here is that we motorcyclists are never responsible for what happens to us. Always the other person's fault. A shame really. It builds upon the entitlement motorcyclists have and the general public sees. This entitlement or "right of way" is what leads to the death of many of us. Slow down. Ride like you are invisible. And if you have any hatred towards police I suggest moving to Portland or San Francisco.

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There is a convenient way to get onto Southbound University from College. You turn North onto Queen's Park then turn around the island. The little double left lane way exists for no other purpose.

And the SIU's track record speaks for itself.
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