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Ottawa police lay charges in cyclist, car standoff

The standoff became widely publicized after video of the confrontation emerged

A heated confrontation between a cyclist and driver on the streets of Ottawa dating back to January 12, 2017 has resulted in three charges being laid by police as first reported by the Ottawa Citizen.

The confrontation became widely publicized after a video of the driver pushing the cyclist through the intersection of Bronson Avenue and Slater Street in downtown Ottawa surfaced.

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The video was posted by the Ottawa radio station CFRA and shows a driver pushing up against a cyclist who was dismounted and in front of the vehicle. Yelling “no” and using his bike as a shield, the cyclist can be seen trying to stand his ground against a driver who continues to advance towards and then push him.

“No, you can’t do that man,” the man filming the confrontation says as he pulls up next to the car. The driver of the vehicle can be seen making hand gestures in the video as he pushes the cyclist through an intersection.

According to Ottawa Police, the confrontation began as the cyclist and driver were heading north on Bronson at around 3:20 pm. The two stopped before reaching Slater as the argument continued with the cyclist dismounting and standing in front of the car to block it according to police. After pushing the cyclist through the intersection as seen in the video, the driver got out of the vehicle and “grabbed the bicycle and threw it to the ground and then he assaulted the cyclist,” police say.

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Initially, the police said they were not going to lay charges because the cyclist did not want to but on Thursday they said the cyclist had decided he did want to pursue charges.

Patrice Lepage, 47, of Gatineau was charged with assault, dangerous driving and mischief under $5,000 after police studied the video and talked to witnesses.

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