On today’s issue of “Dispelling the Myth that Racism Isn’t a Thing in Canada,” we have an incident where I take back everything good I have said of the Edmonton Police Service.
In yet another unbelievably straightforward case of crime, Canadian law enforcement fucks it up. An Edmonton cyclist, who had the audacity to stop at a red light, was honked at by a pair of white folks in a pick-up truck, who yelled at him to get off the road–this despite Albertan traffic laws dictating that the cylist’s bicycle is the type that must be on the road and not on the sidewalk. But we get a picture of what the actual problem was–not merely that this person committed the unthinkable crime of “using a bicycle in accordance with the laws that govern both him and his equipment,” but rather that this person had dark skin.
Content Notice: Virulent racism.
He says he was riding his bicycle downtown on 104 Avenue, heading east, and taking the lane as is his right to do.
A truck full of people behind him began honking and yelling, he says, telling him to get on the sidewalk and out of their way.
“Just as I’m approaching the light, they start honking,” he says of the altercation. “It’s a red light, and the lady rolled down the window and yelled, ‘Get off the f***ing road, get on the sidewalk.'”
Mohamed says he yelled back that it’s illegal to ride a bicycle on the sidewalk.
That’s when the slur came.
“The guy in the passenger seat gets out, and it’s like he’s going to charge me, and he yells ‘Get off the road, you nigger.'”
Bashir says it was at this point that he turned on his camera, and the footage shows people in the vehicle yelling at him and even trying to push the camera down.
So, my lovely readers, does this look like a racially-motivated case of harassment to you? According to these as-of-yet unidentified white rednecks, brown people who follow the law are contemptible for following the law?
Look like hate-motivated harassment to you?
Not according to the EPS: (emphasis added)
He says he took the matter to Edmonton Police, and says that has made him even more frustrated.
He says a police officer who contacted him told him the incident isn’t a hate crime. Indeed, the officer also said, according to Mohamed, that if he is to press charges against the motorists that he, too, will face charges — linked to him taking the entire lane of the roadway.
“He said this isn’t a hate crime because I wasn’t physically touched or injured — it’s a hate incident,” Mohamed says. “I’m shocked by that.”
He says the officer told him he should be on the far right to the road. “That’s not accurate,” he says.
“He said what [based on what] happened, you could be charged. He said if I am to charge the other party then you will also be charged for a similar offence.”
Yeah, that’s some effective policing alright. Not even an attempt to identify the harassers, no contact even made to the rednecks to say “hey, you need to stop doing that.” Just a shrug and a promise they’ll add it to their hate crime stats, without actually doing anything about it, while falsely claiming the cyclist was breaking a law despite following the fucking law. The naked incompetence of this officer is absolutely astounding, and unless the rest of the Service gets their shit together, they’re tacitly endorsing this officer.
Feel free to link this post next time a racist apologist mentions “just cooperate with the popo.” Yeah fucking right. Following the law is against the law now. But only if you’re black or brown. Funny how that works.
Why the fuck does EPS have a hate crime unit if said unit isn’t going to lift a fucking finger to do anything on a case that has the entire incident on video? How much more evidence does a victim need to be believed??
Share far and wide. Don’t let the police bury this. And kudos to metro for pushing a piece critical of the police. That’s the kind of journalism we need to see in the mainstream.
More importantly, let’s put this myth to bed that Canada doesn’t have policing problems.
-Shiv
Jesus. Cops, asshole fuck ups no matter where you go. I hope this is pursued, and if nothing else, these lazy, incompetent idiots are shamed.
Unfortunately, it’s not the only recent example.
http://the-orbit.net/splainyouathing/2016/07/25/not-in-canada/
What the balls is a “hate incident?”
Motorists don’t know the law – that’s pretty common. It may take years before people catch on to any changes.
Police don’t know the law – that’s more common than most would think. Police, particularly older ones that have been enforcing a certain set of laws that seldom change for years, may not catch and incorporate any changes for some time. It may take cases being dismissed before it catches on. Police don’t like going to court and when a case is dismissed by the judge it is gets noted at a high enough cognitive level to restructure thinking.
Decades ago the traffic laws in Florida were changed. Used to be that if there was a bike lane was available the bicycle had to use it. This was changed to allow use of the bike lane, or the option of using a traffic lane as long as the bike complied with normal traffic laws. This made sense because in a lot of places the bike lanes cut across driveways that, because of brush or buildings, have a very limited field of view. People backing out would typically have the entire rear of their vehicle blocking the bike lane before the window cleared the obstruction and they could have any hope of seeing anyone in that bike lane.
I had an accident where going down hill at a considerable clip the back end of a Cadillac emerged and blocked my lane about ten feet in front of me. There was no chance of stopping. I crashed into the rear wheel, flew over the trunk, and tumbled down the slope on the other side of the driveway. Having balled up I was, but for a few scratches, uninjured but my front wheel was a total loss.
Eventually this issue became clear enough that the law was changed. Bikes would have the right to drive on the road and occupy a lane, at the discretion of the rider, even if a bike lane was present. This was several weeks after my near-death experience so I was keen to have legal sanction for what I had started doing. Anyhow … there I was. Happily pedaling down the road and observing the traffic laws when a police officer pulls me over.
What follows is that he tells me I have to use the bike lane. I, very politely, and after listening to his rant, suggest that the needs to check on that because the law was changed. He, of course, gets mad. Only after a police sergeant pulls up behind him, and they spend a minute talking, does he let me go — with a warning.
Change is hard.
Particularly if a law has been one way for a long time. Particularly if the person has an authoritarian mindset and a rigid personality. Particularly if the person being judged is an ‘other’.
It would be better if people, particularly law enforcement, would stayed informed. It would be a grand thing if people didn’t see people as ‘others’. We have a long way to go on both fronts.
I did a search on Edmonton bike laws. If I got recent results, there are limits on when you can take the whole lane on a bicycle.
Right — when there’s not at least 1 meter available between a passing vehicle and a bicycle, the bike should take the whole lane.
The cyclist was parked in the middle of construction, so the rule looks to me like it should apply, considering it would be impossible to squeeze past the bicycle without smacking into construction equipment.
@RobertBaden:
The exact law might not apply as shiv believes? But you’re not sure if you got the most recent statutory language, and you have no idea what precedent may or may not exist qualifying either the law or the police power to enforce it?
The unfortunate fact is that you’re comment comes across as telling Shiv that the people who are likely to be called “Nigger” by white motorists should have more faith & trust in the police. If that’s not what you want to say, you might want to add something to qualify it.
If the exact law, including precedents is necessary, you could throw up a request for any edmonton-based lawyer, if Shiv isn’t a lawyer already. If there are no Edmonton based lawyers around, I’ll go to work, but I should be a last resort, not first, second, or even third. (White, still a few credits shy of my degree, based in Canada, but not based in Edmonton and not based in Alberta and not formerly based anywhere in Alberta). If you weren’t trying to get someone to tell you the exact law, then I don’t know what you want to add. I sure hope, though, that your comment isn’t intended to encourage faith and trust, with nothing else to add to the conversation.
lorn?
You’re stating facts, then expressing dissatisfaction with them. It couldn’t be more clear that you’d like the police to be better, but the way you balance your words – spending just as many encouraging patience as encouraging change – might come across as condescending and/or blame-splitting when it really shouldn’t be.
Because I’ve read you for a long time, I’m as certain as a reasonable person can be that you wouldn’t want to communicate that, but I’ve got to pull from past comments for that.