Police reporting in Fogolin cycling crash not up to standard

More news about cycle coach Frank Fogolin of Kitchener and his injuries from Sunday's crash are on the Record website.

What surprises me in all this is how lightly his injuries were treated by Waterloo Region Police Service.

There was not a major incident report released to any of the local media after the event on Sunday, when Fogolin was knocked down from behind and taken to hospital. In fact, it took a Facebook message from one of his cycling students, Olympian Leigh Hobson, to let anyone know that this had happened.

When I first asked questions about this earlier this week, I was told there was no report, and perhaps the incident had happened outside the Waterloo Region. Later, when I got the actual location from Hobson (on Ira Needles Boulevard in Waterloo), WRPS came up with a report. But even that report fell short of the reality of the case.

I posted on the incident on Wednesday, based on what I had learned from the police and Hobson, but the major media had to depend solely on the police report which said that Fogolin had received minor injuries and had been taken to hospital, held overnight for observation and released.

Clearly, the injuries weren't minor. The guy was knocked unconscious, had a bleed to the brain, has had part of his memory wiped and will be in rehab for months. This is minor?

And clearly, he is still in hospital and will stay there for some time. If this is the standard for police report-taking, how many cases can be thrown out of court because the reporting officer did a slipshod job?

 

Comments

[Carl Jansen]

Just goes to show you cyclists are considered second class citizens in Waterloo Region whether its police,politicians or the general public.

[Mike Boos]

I'm guessing it's the standard for police report-taking. Police fault the cyclist in 73% of all collisions, but in 56% of those cases, they fail to record the reason why the cyclist was at fault. (See http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/gettingAround/resources/2010_ANNUAL_COLLISION_REPORT.pdf, Exibit 2.3.1) This is absolutely ridiculous, given that we are supposed to have reverse onus in Ontario (i.e. the motorist is assumed at fault unless proven otherwise). How can we tell if the law is being upheld properly if the police can't be bothered to record what caused these collisions?

[Filias]

Just bike on the sidewalks for now.
Push to have bike lanes separate from the road.
Streets are not for bikers !

He's lucky to be alive...

[Bruce H]

Bill maybe it is time for another group bike ride, to show support for his recovery!

[Phil Hiems]

Perhaps as well as improving the Driver's Ed handbook in this province by including more information on avoiding cyclists, we should also be pushing for changes to police training?

[concerned]

HELLO>>> KNOCK KNOCK... BIll, have you hit your head without your trusty helmet on? its a lawsuit waiting to happen. The cops have ZERO right to disclose the injuries of ANYONE. They are tip-toeing on broken glass when they say " sent to hospital with injuries". You and I both know the liars/lawyers just love to watch the paper and sue the pants off anyone who discloses a darn thing about anyone else. .. maybe if things were different, they'd say .. "so and so wasn't wearing their seatbelt, got into a collision, had their face smashed into the steering wheel, their jaw was torn off their head and bled like a stuck pig".. is THAT what the readers/public want?

[concerned]

oh .. to the reader who comments about cyclists being at fault 73% of the time... ya, they are.. watch them sometime.. through red lights, no signals, no helmet, all over the road, IMPAIRED, on and on... the police can charge them, but what are the consequences of the cyclists not paying the fine? Drivers Lic suspended..? big deal, that wont stop someone who has no licence to begin with!

[JJ]

Motorist don't like cyclists. That appears to be evident in your columns. And nothing will change as long as you advocate for cyclists to stand our ground, disrespect the laws and the safety of ourselves, as cyclists we will always lose in an accident with a vehicle, that's not rocket science. Maybe you should be advocating for responsible single file law abiding riding. Maybe you should be asking that we require licences so that the repeat offenders that give us all bad names and create issues for all cyclists are held accountable. We need to share the roads and I want to be safe so I obey the law. I don't try to push the issues by pissing off the motorists. You need to think if you methods justify the end result of cyclists getting hurt.