A Toronto Police officer was called out by an angry citizen after parking in a midtown bike lane to munch on a snack, which some argue could have put cyclists in unnecessary danger.

A video making the rounds on social media shows someone confronting a 53 Division police officer, who was parked in a bike lane on Davenport just west of Yonge, apparently just to eat.

The clip shows the narrator approaching the police car, saying, "Just blocking a bike lane, eh?" The narrator then makes eye contact with the officer, who is caught mid-chew with one hand on a package of snacks and the other hand on a keyboard.

The narrator calls out the cop, saying "Rules for thee but not for me, having his lunch," before the officer quickly leaves the scene, to which the narrator responds, "And doesn't like the camera, so he drives away."

Another example of TPS unnecessarily endangering the public so they can satisfy their personal needs.
byu/Any-Excitement-8979 inTorontoDriving

Several commenters have piled on additional criticism towards the unidentified officer.

One user writes, "lol you can see it in his eyes how he realizes he's been caught out."

In a climate where bike lanes have become heavily politicized, there were, unsurprisingly, several others who defended the police officer's choice of snacking location, with a handful of users claiming that the bike lane is "empty" at the time of day the video was filmed.

However, one user didn't accept that explanation, writing, "It seems we are all missing the point. He is in a no-stopping zone while stopped and blocking a bike lane.. It literally doesn't matter if ZERO bikes use that lane."

"What he is doing is illegal and you would find yourself with a fat ticket or possibly arrested if you did it. They don't get to do whatever the f**k they want. Holding them accountable down to the smallest infraction like this NEEDS to happen."

Others shared similar stances that these encounters are indicative of a broader issue, like one who wrote that while "police officers obviously play a really important role in society [...]we need to have a serious conversation about the culture that permeates police forces and how to do something about it."

Personal injury lawyer and cycling safety advocate David Shellnutt tells blogTO that he considers this just another example following "a pattern of [police] using bike lanes for parking."

Shellnutt argues that while it's understandable for police to park where needed when on official business like an emergency situation, "when the rules of the road are ignored by police just for a coffee break, it sends a bad message to regular motorists."

The exchange comes just a couple of months after a tense interaction where a Toronto cop gave the finger to a person who filmed officers returning to their illegally parked cruiser after a coffee run. 

Toronto cop gave a man the middle finger and says they can park illegally to get coffee. What do you think of this? https://t.co/k7JZCoXL7E pic.twitter.com/bJsMFcDVmj

— blogTO (@blogTO) August 7, 2024

blogTO has contacted Toronto Police about both incidents, though police representatives have not yet responded to requests for comment.