A Canadian courier company says it has now fired an employee accused of assaulting a driver who honked at him in the downtown core last week.
Part of the incident, which occurred at the intersection of York Street and Bremner Boulevard on Thursday afternoon, was captured on video and posted online.
The video shows a cyclist standing behind a man in the intersection before grabbing his collar and tackling him to the ground.
After the alleged altercation, the video shows the cyclist getting back onto his bike and leaving the area.
Brett New, the victim of the alleged assault, told CTV News Toronto last week that he was trying to pass through the intersection when a cyclist rode off of the sidewalk and entered the roadway.
New said he was forced to slam on his brakes to avoid colliding with the man on the bike.
He said he honked his horn out of frustration and that is when the cyclist got off of his bike and kicked the front of his car.
“I got out of the car to ask him what he was doing and after a brief verbal exchange he pulled out a U-shaped bike lock and struck me with it,” New said last week. “At that point, I knew there was a police officer usually stationed just west of Scotiabank Arena so I turned to call for help with my back turned. The cyclist then grabbed me from the behind and threw me to the ground.”
Following the alleged assault, New said he suffered a bruise and some contusions to his wrist as well as some swelling and bleeding at the back of his head.
CTV News Toronto has now confirmed that the suspect in the incident is believed to be an employee of QA Courier.
Peter Hanson, the president of the courier company, told CTV News Toronto this weekend that the cyclist’s employment has now been terminated.
“My manager basically said, ‘Head straight to the police station and turn yourself in,’” Hanson said.
He said he was “disgusted” after watching the video and noted that the company has a “zero tolerance” policy for that type of violent behaviour.
“Honestly I’m shocked by the whole video and the whole incident how somebody could go to that extreme over something so small,” he added.
Police say the cyclist has not yet surrendered.
“I think it was a pretty vicious assault by all accounts from what we saw on the video,” Toronto police Const. Allyson Douglas-Cook said Saturday.
“We all share the roadways and no one wants any situation to turn the way this one did.”
