Letter to TPS & Mayor Chow re: Sgt. Blain Young & Cyclist Harassment
- Dave Shellnutt
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
Dave Shellnutt
800.725.0754
dave@thebikinglawyer.ca
www.thebikinglawyer.ca
May 13, 2025
Chief M. Demkiw Mayor O. Chow
Toronto Police Service Board Office of the Mayor
40 College St. 100 Queen St. W.
Toronto, ON M5G 2J3 Toronto, ON M5H 2N2
RE: TPS Harassing Cyclists
Over the last few months, Sgt. Blain Young has led large numbers of bike cops to cycling community organized “Critical Mass” rides. The effect being an attempt to corral and control freedom of expression and community action, primarily by Torontonians on bikes concerned about bike lane removals. Sgt. Young (and some of his subordinates) have been confrontational, aggressive, belittling and counterproductive. These events are peaceful and safe demonstrations aimed at humanizing cyclists to other road users[1].
Members of our community are concerned that Sgt. Young and TPS may be exacerbating existing tensions between TPS and the cycling community and query whether his leadership role in these efforts (and the efforts in general) are a reasonable use of limited municipal/TPS resources and/or anti-cyclist in nature:
Sgt. Blain Young is a senior police office earning approximately $366,052.00 (2024 Sunshine List).
This makes Sgt. Young the 4th highest paid TPS Officer.
Why is the 4th highest paid TPS officer leading an apparent traffic detachment and handing out HTA tickets?
Sgt. Young has a track record of anti-cyclist tendencies. During the heightened tensions at High Park in the summer of 2022, Sgt. Young stationed at 52 Division would travel to 11 Division (High Park) to ticket cyclists.
On one such occasion he was ticketing cyclists for not stopping at stop signs when he himself did not stop at a stop sign and hit a cyclist. He was not charged and a police complaint against him was dismissed. Here is the video obtained by FOI.
The TPS officers that attend these Critical Mass rides take up the central space in an attempt to assert dominance.
TPS officers have for two months now issued tickets at the outset of the rides to “show who’s in charge” (a direct quote from this officer).
TPS officers’ actions make these rides less safe. In issuing me a ticket for allegedly turning left on a red (an intersection they themselves were blocking at all angles), they stopped 300 cyclists in their tracks to issue the ticket (taking about 10 minutes to do so). This created a blocked intersection at Bloor and St. George and left hundreds of cyclists in an intersection for multiple light cycles, created traffic, blocked motor vehicles and increased tensions between road users.
TPS officers are directing how these events are to unfold and what appears to be an infringement on various Charter rights to protest and freedom of expression. TPS must not be permitted to sanction or direct demonstrations including cycling events. Issuing tickets under the HTA to protestors will have a chilling effect on cycling advocacy, freedom of speech and cycling in general.
For a public service concerned with limited resources and increased costs associated with protests and demonstrations, this seems like a poor choice of policing activity for the Service’s 4th highest paid member, Sgt. Young, and dozens of other officers.
In the past, Critical Mass has, like Ghost Bike Memorial rides, not been the target of TPS observation and now direction. It has only been since the group has on occasion ridden under the theme of promoting bike lanes and opposing Premier Ford’s anti-bike lane agenda that TPS has now become omnipresent.
We know that the TPA firmly supports Premier Ford and are concerned that service members’ private beliefs, against cyclists and safe cycling infrastructure, are influencing TPS decisions and interactions with the public.
As we all know, private biases and prejudices manifest systemically with profound consequences.
We ask what the rationale is for targeting cyclists. Are we to now expect dozens of officers dictating our Ghost Bike Memorial routes the next time a cyclist is killed. Attempts to direct community grief will, I anticipate be poorly received.
We call upon Toronto City Council, Chief Demkiw and the TPS Board to:
Rein in and reassign Sgt. Young;
Withdraw all tickets issued to attendees of Critical Mass in 2025;
Reassess the purpose of interfering with cyclist rallies and the resources expended; and
Work to root out anti-cyclist attitudes at TPS and ensure these attitudes do not influence policies directed at cyclists.
My office would be happy to discuss any of the above with you at your request.
Kind Regards,
Dave Shellnutt
Lawyer & Advocate
[1] Critical Mass is a form of direct action in which people travel as a group on bicycles at a set location and time. The idea is for people to group together to make it safe for each other to ride bicycles through their streets, based on the old adage: there's safety in numbers.
Critical Mass events highlight the numbers of people who want to use their bicycle on the streets, but are usually unable to do so without risking their safety. They are a call to action to councils, governments and road planners to properly and thoughtfully design in the safety of all road users, including those who would prefer to walk and cycle, instead of prioritizing motor traffic above all else.