An Ottawa man is speaking out after he was slammed to the ground, choked, and kicked in the middle of the street in Manotick.
The incident happened the evening of Tuesday, July 9, near Mitch Owens Road and Bridge Street.
Footage shared with CTV News shows a Dodge SUV hauling a U-Haul trailer turning right into the middle of the road, nearly clipping several motorcyclists moments before the physical altercation.
The motorcycle riders were forced into a dangerous situation, wedged between the vehicle and the edge of the road, before passing the SUV.
One of the riders then gives the driver of the car the middle finger.
“Then we just went on with our days, but at the next traffic light he pulled up inches from my back wheel and so I got off my bike to go talk to him not even realizing at first that it was the same guy,” said the assault victim, who asked CTV News to conceal his identity.
“Him and the two women in his car started screaming at me like crazy. I could not believe how angry they were. It took me by surprise. He started trying to open his door to attack me so I tried to keep the door closed, but he spun in his seat, kicked the door open and get out with a glass bottle.”
The motorcyclist tells CTV News that in the moment, he couldn’t tell if the glass bottle was full or broken.
“I didn’t know if he was going to hit me with it or try to stab me with it, and so at that point, I had to just stand and defend,” he said.
“I kind of caught the bottle as he swung it at me, and then he took me to the ground. He was choking me on the ground and then two women got out of the car and started kicking me on the ground.”
After a few moments, motorcyclists who happened to be meeting up at a nearby Tim Horton’s jumped into the scuffle and pulled the man away.
Police have been sent the dashcam footage.
“The motorcycles themselves seem to be kind of whipping through traffic at a high speed. It’s hard to tell from a video, but they obviously weren’t without some error on their part as well,” said Chris Lewis, CTV News Public Safety Analyst and former OPP Commissioner.
“But does that justify an assault? No, not in my view.”
The rider tells CTV News that he and the other motorcyclists were traveling at a safe speed when they encountered the SUV, but they sped up after nearly being forced off the road to create a safe distance between them and the vehicle.
He says the driver of the SUV appeared to be driving erratically.
The motorcyclist also says it’s not too uncommon for motorists to pull up dangerously close to his bike when he’s on the road, but it is almost always handled peacefully.
“I have had people pull up close to me before and I just say, ‘Hey, you’re way too close to me,’ and they go, ‘Oh, sorry,’ and we go on with our days,” he said.
“In this case, I was baffled. I could not believe it.”
He tells CTV News that a couple people at the scene called police right away, but after several minutes of waiting and holding the assailant at the intersection, no officers arrived.
“Forty-five minutes after the incident, two cop cars pulled up. Forty-five minutes. It was unbelievable,” said the biker.
“They didn’t even talk to me for about 15 minutes. They were talking to everybody else, but they didn’t even come to see if I was okay. I am completely unimpressed with the Ottawa police.”
In a statement to CTV News, the Ottawa Police Service says the investigation is ongoing.
“At approximately 8:35 p.m. on Tuesday, July 9th, Ottawa Police received a call for service in relation to a disturbance in the area of Mitch Owens Road and River Road. Upon arrival, police spoke to all involved parties and witnesses,” reads the statement.
“At the time, there were conflicting accounts of the incident; and as such, a further investigation was commenced by the East Criminal Investigation Section. As this is an ongoing investigation no further details will be provided at this time.”
Lewis says the response time depends on several factors.
“Quite often, the police are really busy with things that are bigger and more important than really an assault in which nobody’s hospitalized. So ultimately, they aren’t necessarily in a position to respond quickly and when they prioritize calls, 45 minutes might not be unusual,” he said.
“From an investigative perspective, the police are obligated to look at those tapes. And if they do as I do, they have to question why somebody jumped out of the vehicle and tackled somebody on the street. That’s clearly a criminal assault. It’s just a matter of the police following it up and look at it properly.”
The motorcycle rider’s helmet was damaged in the scuffle and he will now need to buy a new one, which will likely cost hundreds of dollars.
“Do we even take actual crime seriously anymore?” said the motorcyclist.
“I would like to see the guy face charges and I’d like to see some better response times by Ottawa police.”