Charges dropped against Kingston councillor

KINGSTON Charges against Kingston Coun. Peter Stroud for causing a disturbance and obstructing property under $5,000 were dropped after he completed a diversion program, court heard.

The Sydenham District councillor was charged June 23 by Kingston police after they said he chased after a Kingston Transit bus on his bicycle with his child. In a news release, police said that once Stroud caught up to the bus and it had stopped, he went in front of it, placed his child on the ground and started to yell at and take photos of the driver.

Neither Stroud nor his Ottawa lawyer Celine Dostatler appeared before justice of the peace Jack Chiang Thursday to hear the Crown attorney withdraw the charges. Stroud was represented in court by Kingston lawyer Paul Blais.

After the charges were dropped, Blais said Stroud’s diversion program could have included counselling, community service or a letter of apology.

“The facts speak for themselves; my child was denied service,” Stroud wrote in a statement Thursday morning. “I protested peacefully as a father, not as a councillor. The case against me was very weak.” He said he wrote a letter of apology as part of the diversion program.

Stroud hadn’t spoken publicly about the incident, but in late June tweeted out a statement.

“I did not intend to upset anyone, and I sincerely apologize to anyone who was upset by my actions,” Stroud wrote in his post. “My intention was to gain access for my eldest child, who was refused service while arrived to an express bus stop before the scheduled departure.”