On August 31, 2009 former Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant intentionally attacked and killed Metis bike messenger Darcy Allan Sheppard in a road rage attack. Bryant was charged with criminal negligence causing death & dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death.
Overwhelming direct evidence clearly demonstrated Michael Bryant’s responsibility for this killing. The Police collision reconstruction report clearly pointed to Michael Bryant’s guilt. Bryant’s actions were captured on surveillance video and witnessed by several people, and subject to forensic evidence.
Nine months after Michael Bryant killed Darcy Allan Sheppard, independent prosecutor Richard Peck withdrew all charges against his colleague. He chose to make a detailed presentation outlining his reasons for withdrawing the charges which mainly involved unreasonably dehumanizing and vilifying the victim. Peck would rely on Bryant’s own version of the events to withdraw the charges as he left out all of the evidence demonstrating Bryant’s guilt.
Think of any major trial that clearly demonstrated the guilt of the defendant and then think of the impact on the verdict if the prosecutor failed to present or hid all of the most damning evidence. In every single case the defendant would be acquitted. That is what the prosecutor, Richard Peck accomplished.
The following is a list of evidence that Richard Peck failed to present during his justification for withdrawing charges.
Michael Bryant’s intentional attack and killing of Darcy Allan Sheppard was captured on video. Richard Peck did not show the video during his presentation. The video is here:
here:
The police reconstruction report looked at all of the evidence including witness and forensic evidence. The report clearly stated that Sheppard’s hands were on his handle bars at all times as he passed Bryant and that forensic evidence showed that Sheppard at no time touched Bryant’s steering wheel. Peck left out this damming evidence and instead introduced the possibility that the opposite could have happened. The police reconstruction report can be viewed here:
There were many eye witnesses to Bryant’s actions. Two witnesses were close enough to touch Bryant’s car. Both of these witnesses clearly stated that Michael Bryant intentionally attacked Darcy Allan Sheppard. Both of these witnesses made recorded 911 calls and sat for detailed video interviews with police only hours after Bryant killed Sheppard. Richard Peck kept all of their evidence and damning testimony out of the courtroom on May 25, 2010. Both of these witnesses stated to me that there was no indication that Bryant’s car stalled and during their video interviews they said Bryant’s car made no unusual sounds. Despite this direct evidence Richard Peck introduced the unbelievable possibility that Michael Bryant’s car stalled multiple times based solely on Bryant’s claims after Bryant and his lawyer were shown all of the evidence against him. Peck failed to note that six or seven months later Bryant could easily fit his claims around the known evidence revealed to him. Despite multiple attempts by these witnesses to contact Richard Peck and his Ontario agent Mark Sandler, Peck and Sandler failed to interview these witnesses.
The witness 911 calls are here:
Witness 9.12:
Witness 9.13:
The police video interviews of these witnesses are here:
Witness 9.12:
Witness 9:13:
A video summary of the 911 calls and police interviews are here:
Many construction workers witnessed Michael Bryant’s road rage attack. They spoke to various media outlets to explain what they witnessed. Two of the construction workers spoke on video clearly condemning Michael Bryant’s road rage attack and killing of Darcy Allan Sheppard. In court Peck only mentioned their evidence to dismiss all of it because he claimed their attempt at estimating the speed of Bryant’s car was inaccurate.
Video of the construction workers’ evidence is here:
As stated in the police reconstruction report multiple witnesses stated that Darcy Allan Sheppard yelled to the bystanders and onlookers, “You are all witnesses to this!” He wanted them to tell everyone what they saw. Richard Peck made sure they didn’t.
A video interview of one of these witnesses is here:
Michael Bryant attacked and killed Darcy Allan Sheppard on what was Bryant’s twelfth wedding anniversary. During his explanation for withdrawing the charges against his colleague, Richard Peck portrayed this anniversary as a joyful day of celebration but as Bryant himself would reveal it was nothing joyful and was in fact stressful and argumentative. Bryant’s own words reveal that the anniversary could have played an important role in his road rage behaviour but Peck failed to purse or reveal this possibility.
Michael Bryant’s own description of his troubled anniversary is here:
During his presentation on May 25, 2010 Richard Peck cherry picked evidence, included inadmissible evidence and omitted damning evidence to justify withdrawing the charges against his fellow BC bred lawyer Michael Bryant. The same could be accomplished in every single trial ever conducted if the prosecutor acted in a similar manner.
Bryant Watch 
Thanks for keeping me updated: it’s been quite a while now, but there are still those of us who remember and mourn, even if, like me, we didn’t know Darcy. I remember all too clearly seeing the report of the attack on the subway screens, and knowing, as soon as Bryant’s face appeared, that there would be no justice for his victim – he never spent one single day in jail. It all depends on who, or what, you are. Thanks again.