Profiled for not the color of skin but vehicle you choose to drive - this is not OK | Page 3 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Profiled for not the color of skin but vehicle you choose to drive - this is not OK

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Clearly the officer was in the fault here, he knew that and tried to explain and pay his way out. Given the way the review / discipline process works it will probably take 18 - 24 months for there to be any "resolution" on this.

I don't know what the regulations are for license plates, presumably they have to be mounted in a certain way and illuminated at night. If a rider has a flip plate or goes to the trouble to remove the OEM brackets and then mount a plate under the fender and make it less visible then it's easy to see why a cop would reasonably assume that there was a much higher probability of the rider running. Doesn't excuse his actions, but are there any videos out there of a cop throwing a rider off of a touring bike in a similar manner?

Aren't small and discrete video cameras great. These types of abuses have always happened and it is the cop's word against yours. Now there is hard evidence of what really happened.
 
ReSTored said:
Clearly the officer was in the fault here, he knew that and tried to explain and pay his way out. Given the way the review / discipline process works it will probably take 18 - 24 months for there to be any "resolution" on this.

I don't know what the regulations are for license plates, presumably they have to be mounted in a certain way and illuminated at night. If a rider has a flip plate or goes to the trouble to remove the OEM brackets and then mount a plate under the fender and make it less visible then it's easy to see why a cop would reasonably assume that there was a much higher probability of the rider running. Doesn't excuse his actions, but are there any videos out there of a cop throwing a rider off of a touring bike in a similar manner?

Aren't small and discrete video cameras great. These types of abuses have always happened and it is the cop's word against yours. Now there is hard evidence of what really happened.
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Has to be mounted to the rear most part of the vehicle and illuminated.
 
Evoex said:
Has to be mounted to the rear most part of the vehicle and illuminated.
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Yeah, it appears that this riders plate is almost at the front of the swingarm and very hard to see. They were asking for and deserve the plate ticket if that is the case. They did not deserve a WWE smackdown for an equipment violation (as that was all they were guilty of in this video).
 
driving.ca

Motorcycle rider pushed to ground by police in Ontario in viral video

The Hamilton officer seems to try to pay out of his own pocket for damaging the bike
driving.ca driving.ca

"Wilde was cooperative and polite throughout the whole process, despite his bike being damaged. He produces all the correct paperwork, but his bike fails to start near the end. The officer appears to take some cash out of his wallet to compensate Wilde"

canadamotoguide.com

Opinion: Hamilton Cop’s Excessive Force | Canada Moto Guide

Rider pulled from motorcycle and handcuffed for having hidden plate.
canadamotoguide.com canadamotoguide.com

The cop seems to be relatively young; he quite likely did have bad experiences when trying to pull over other guys in the past.
Atleast he admitted to wrong doing and offered to financially compensate the rider.

That being said, having being exposed to courts sessions, lawyers, fees etc (not my own but via Jury duty and a family member that had to fight a case) I will say that I'd still be reluctant to go ahead and file an actual lawsuit against the Police force/ officer.
It is a HUGE drain on time, paperwork, mental thought processes, sleepless nights etc when you start to look at it from start to finish.
And not everyone has a couple of thousand dollars they can flush down the drain for this.

If that officer was willing to compensate me for new bike parts (or the costs involved for repairs), repair or replace damaged gear/armour and my TIME - I'd actually take that route and move on with my life lol.
But - that's just me.
 
POWERMAN said:
driving.ca

Motorcycle rider pushed to ground by police in Ontario in viral video

The Hamilton officer seems to try to pay out of his own pocket for damaging the bike
driving.ca driving.ca

"Wilde was cooperative and polite throughout the whole process, despite his bike being damaged. He produces all the correct paperwork, but his bike fails to start near the end. The officer appears to take some cash out of his wallet to compensate Wilde"

canadamotoguide.com

Opinion: Hamilton Cop’s Excessive Force | Canada Moto Guide

Rider pulled from motorcycle and handcuffed for having hidden plate.
canadamotoguide.com canadamotoguide.com

The cop seems to be relatively young; he quite likely did have bad experiences when trying to pull over other guys in the past.
Atleast he admitted to wrong doing and offered to financially compensate the rider.

That being said, having being exposed to courts sessions, lawyers, fees etc (not my own but via Jury duty and a family member that had to fight a case) I will say that I'd still be reluctant to go ahead and file an actual lawsuit against the Police force/ officer.
It is a HUGE drain on time, paperwork, mental thought processes, sleepless nights etc when you start to look at it from start to finish.
And not everyone has a couple of thousand dollars they can flush down the drain for this.

If that officer was willing to compensate me for new bike parts (or the costs involved for repairs), repair or replace damaged gear/armour and my TIME - I'd actually take that route and move on with my life lol.
But - that's just me.
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Agreed, but I'd file a complaint.
 
I would be concerned about the cop's ability to pay a repair bill of a couple thousand dollars out of pocket. If he offered that, I'm sure I'd be asking "Do you have any idea how much damage you just caused", and start pointing to paint scrapes. "Lower fairing 500 bucks. Side panel 300 bucks. Brake lever 50 bucks. Bar end 50 bucks. Muffler 400 bucks. Probably a few bent mounting brackets. 3 or 4 hours of labour."
 
Brian P said:
I would be concerned about the cop's ability to pay a repair bill of a couple thousand dollars out of pocket. ...
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That would not concern me any more then the concern the cop demonstrated for the motorcycle and the riders well being. Cops are paid well, they don't even have to buy equipment to do the job, that's all provided by taxpayers just like the taxpayer he knocked over and lectured.
... there is no fixing a cop like that one, he's broken, needs to find a less strenuous form of work where thought is not required.
 
Brian P said:
I would be concerned about the cop's ability to pay a repair bill of a couple thousand dollars out of pocket. If he offered that, I'm sure I'd be asking "Do you have any idea how much damage you just caused", and start pointing to paint scrapes. "Lower fairing 500 bucks. Side panel 300 bucks. Brake lever 50 bucks. Bar end 50 bucks. Muffler 400 bucks. Probably a few bent mounting brackets. 3 or 4 hours of labour."
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In the interest of career preservation, if I was the cop, I would be coming up with the money. If that meant I needed to borrow it, no problem, here you go sir, sorry for the inconvenience.
 
Right, and at the side of the road, what's the course of action? I could give the cop the on-the-spot ballpark estimation that I did above, but properly pricing out the repair is not happening at the side of the road. Probably if I'm on the way from one place to another, I also don't have time to deal with it, assuming it happens when shops are open at all. Taking down the cop's contact information is a given. The damage (repaired properly) is sure to be beyond the threshold for this being a reportable "collision", too ... which means it has to go to the collision reporting center. That'll be an interesting one. Legally, if that cop is going to be bellyaching about the way a license plate is mounted, then legally, the damage that the cop caused is going to be reported as it legally has to be ...

I'd be in contact with my insurance company.

If this hadn't been on video, that rider would be in a difficult position.
 
POWERMAN said:
driving.ca

Motorcycle rider pushed to ground by police in Ontario in viral video

The Hamilton officer seems to try to pay out of his own pocket for damaging the bike
driving.ca driving.ca

"Wilde was cooperative and polite throughout the whole process, despite his bike being damaged. He produces all the correct paperwork, but his bike fails to start near the end. The officer appears to take some cash out of his wallet to compensate Wilde"

canadamotoguide.com

Opinion: Hamilton Cop’s Excessive Force | Canada Moto Guide

Rider pulled from motorcycle and handcuffed for having hidden plate.
canadamotoguide.com canadamotoguide.com

The cop seems to be relatively young; he quite likely did have bad experiences when trying to pull over other guys in the past.
Atleast he admitted to wrong doing and offered to financially compensate the rider.

That being said, having being exposed to courts sessions, lawyers, fees etc (not my own but via Jury duty and a family member that had to fight a case) I will say that I'd still be reluctant to go ahead and file an actual lawsuit against the Police force/ officer.
It is a HUGE drain on time, paperwork, mental thought processes, sleepless nights etc when you start to look at it from start to finish.
And not everyone has a couple of thousand dollars they can flush down the drain for this.

If that officer was willing to compensate me for new bike parts (or the costs involved for repairs), repair or replace damaged gear/armour and my TIME - I'd actually take that route and move on with my life lol.
But - that's just me.
Click to expand...

I have a couple of retired lawyers as friends. I get free advice under the conditions it isn't in writing and I don't mention their names. One cautioned that if someone takes something like this to court............

1) Their legal team will shred you if you don't have a lawyer.

2) It takes a long time and just when you think you've got a day to yourself the phone rings and it's your lawyer saying the defense has asked for more details. You spend the rest of the day digging through records to back your charge. Your spouse is annoyed that you didn't clean up whatever it was you were supposed to do, the kids didn't see you at the soccer game etc. This goes on for months and every phone call from the lawyer is logged as chargeable time.

3) The final result is a crap shoot. If the judge hearing the case lives around the Forks he may get his noise revenge or maybe he rides and you come out gold plated.

I once had a potential small claims dispute but dropped it because I could guarantee making the financial loss back by working far fewer hours than would be spent preparing for and attending court, HOPING for a favourable decision. It left a crappy taste but I have better things to do than get into drawn out confrontations. I believe in karma.
 
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Brian P said:
Right, and at the side of the road, what's the course of action? I could give the cop the on-the-spot ballpark estimation that I did above, but properly pricing out the repair is not happening at the side of the road. Probably if I'm on the way from one place to another, I also don't have time to deal with it, assuming it happens when shops are open at all. Taking down the cop's contact information is a given. The damage (repaired properly) is sure to be beyond the threshold for this being a reportable "collision", too ... which means it has to go to the collision reporting center. That'll be an interesting one. Legally, if that cop is going to be bellyaching about the way a license plate is mounted, then legally, the damage that the cop caused is going to be reported as it legally has to be ...

I'd be in contact with my insurance company.

If this hadn't been on video, that rider would be in a difficult position.
Click to expand...
Is this a comp claim? No other vehicle was involved and the rider wasn't moving. Should be similar to a drunk knocking your bike over no? He was on a road and the bike was not parked so there could be an argument for a single vehicle collision I guess. It's an interesting situation. About the only thing really clear is if he didn't have the footage he would be screwed. The cop already went with "he fell over" when talking on the phone (presumably to his superior) so I am sure any police report would come out looking like a rider at fault single vehicle crash.
 
Closer to: Some idiot in blue assaulted him and damaged his private property in a thoughtless process, proceeded to detain him illegally and then tried a bribe to make it all go away.

... will I damage your motorcycle even more if I try to pick it up like this:
No but I sure do hope you throw your back out, you stupid idiot.
 
nobbie48 said:
Admission of guilt.
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Possibly, but that also helps me decide how hard to press if I was the rider. If the cop realizes he screwed up (we all do occasionally), you legitimately think he has learned from this mistake and will not repeat it and he compensates you appropriately, I see no need to keep calling news outlets and adding pressure for the cop to get an assault charge.
 
Cop should probably be fired. Its one thing to screw up, its another thing to throw someone and their bike to the ground out of nowhere.
Could have caused a serious injury. Offered to pay a few bucks after he sees dudes camera lol
 
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nobbie48 said:
I once had a potential small claims dispute but dropped it because I could guarantee making the financial loss back by working far fewer hours than would be spent preparing for and attending court, HOPING for a favourable decision. It left a crappy taste but I have better things to do than get into drawn out confrontations. I believe in karma.
Click to expand...

Sigh.

I need to have a few kids and raise them as Batman so they can go around beating the **** out of cops like this.
 
GreyGhost said:
Possibly, but that also helps me decide how hard to press if I was the rider. If the cop realizes he screwed up (we all do occasionally), you legitimately think he has learned from this mistake and will not repeat it and he compensates you appropriately, I see no need to keep calling news outlets and adding pressure for the cop to get an assault charge.
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It all depends on attitude. If everyone is reasonable why fatten legal wallets, tie up the courts, and make lifelong enemies?
 
nobbie48 said:
It all depends on attitude. If everyone is reasonable why fatten legal wallets, tie up the courts, and make lifelong enemies?
Click to expand...
I agree, they should go with schoolyard rules :LOL:
 
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