Bike Couriers?

Jonathan Kay: The cyclo-martyrdom of Darcy Sheppard, and the real threat to bike couriers

Jonathan Kay  August 30, 2010 – 1:31 pm

 

Wojtek Arciszewski / National Post

Cyclists protest the death of Darcy Allan Sheppard in Toronto on Sept. 2, 2009.

It was a year ago tomorrow that Toronto bike courier Darcy Allan Sheppard, then 33, was killed after he initiated a violent confrontation with former Ontario attorney general Michael Bryant. As we later found out, Sheppard was a rageaholic on two wheels, with a history of violent confrontations with motorists. He’d provoked Bryant by reaching into his convertible Saab and grabbing the steering wheel. Bryant, whose wife was in the passenger seat, sped off, and Sheppard was thrown to his death. Charges against Bryant, for criminal negligence and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, were withdrawn after prosecutors concluded (properly, in my opinion) that there was no reasonable prospect of conviction. Bryant’s reputation was restored (albeit belatedly) and the path was cleared for him to return, honorably, to public life.
Yet in the year since Sheppard was killed, a cadre of his mourners insist that the privileged Bryant was the beneficiary of a conspiratorial cover-up. Even some mainstream journalists have helped create a sort of victim cult around Sheppard, presenting him as a road-safety martyr in the tribalized battle between vulnerable cyclists and nasty motorists.
Witness, for instance, Jennifer Yang’s article on the front-page of the Toronto Star‘s Tuesday city section, detailing a “memorial” bike ride staged on Sunday, by the city’s bike couriers, and led by Allan Sheppard, Darcy’s adoptive father. One of the organizers was Sonia Serba, who is quoted in Yang’s piece, and helped produce a rap-music video dedicated to the idea that Bryant got off the hook only because of his wealth and connections. “Another killer is walking the streets,” the video tells us. “Only, this one doesn’t wear gang colours. He drives luxury cars, and smokes fine cigars.” (The full lyrics appear here — and though I disagree with the premise of the video, I’ll admit some of them are clever.)

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Posted in: Canada, Full Comment, Uncategorized  Tags: Toronto, Michael Bryant, Jonathan Kay, Darcy Allan Sheppard, Cycling, Road Safety, Bicycle Couriers

Porter: Confessions of an ex-warrior cyclist

Tue Aug 31 2010

Catherine Porter rides her new bike, Mary Poppins style and follows the rules.