Bryant charges withdrawn

Source:NOWMichael Bryant, ex-AG and involved in cyclist death, will not face charges
By Enzo Di Matteo

The Sun is reporting that the special Crown appointed to review charges against former AG Michael Bryant in the horrific death of cyclist Darcy Allan Sheppard will recommend dropping the charges.

The reasons are reportedly on the basis that there is no likelihood of a conviction in the case.

Interesting reasoning, given the handful of eyewitness accounts in the minutes following the incident on Bloor where it was reported that the car Bryant was driving looked like it swerved violently before deliberately dragging Sheppard into a mailbox and other assorted street furniture on the sidewalk opposite the direction Bryant’s car was traveling.

While the prospect of conviction in this case may have been on the lower end of the scale – the waters were certainly muddied enough by the campaign of leaks undertaken by the PR firm hired by Bryant to stickhandle the controversy – it’s unlikely that they would have been completely dropped if the person behind the wheel had been anyone but a former AG.

Besides the timing of the announcement, on the day after a long holiday weekend, it’s also noteworthy that the other question, whether pursuing the charges against Bryant would have been in the public interest, is something the Crown will not be delving into to explain the dropping of charges in this case.

That’s probably because that argument would be harder for the Crown to make.

Clearly, it is in the public interest, given what we know about the nature of the incident and the fact Bryant is a high profile person of some influence, for justice not only to be done, but to be seen to be done. And that would mean a trial for Bryant before a jury of his peers to let the chips fall where they may.

Even if Bryant were found not guilty, at least the public would have some confidence that the legal test of beyond a reasonable doubt was met followed in court. Now we’ll never know. More on this story as it happens.