Police looking for large group of aggressive motorcyclists

Ontario provincial police say they have received a number of tips as they work to track down a large group of motorcyclists who caused “major traffic disruptions” on Toronto-area highways last Sunday.

Investigators have issued an appeal to anyone with dash cam videos or photographs of the motorcyclists to turn them over and also urged the motorcyclist to get a lawyer and contact police. No arrests have been made so far, said Sgt. Kerry Schmidt.

Police said they received complaints last Sunday about dozens of riders driving in an aggressive manner across all lanes and coming to a full stop to perform various stunts and wheelies between 12:30 and 2:30 p.m.

Schmidt said the group was seen on all major highways in the Toronto area, including the 401, 403, 409, Queen Elizabeth Way, Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway.

“Not only were they across all lanes of traffic, driving on the shoulders, they actually came to a dead stop on the highways,” Schmidt said in a video posted on social media on Wednesday.

He said coming to a full stop was “incredibly dangerous” for drivers and doing so intentionally was “on the verge of criminal activity.”

Schmidt also said that officers were rebuffed when they tried to pull over riders on the 401.

“That officer was swarmed by riders. They all flippantly took off from the officer at high rates of speed,” he said.

“These guys may think they’re showing how powerful they are by hiding in a group, but this is something that is serious and could result in serious consequences.”

Provincial police laid charges in March following similar incidents in 2016. A man died on July 23, 2016, when he collided with a transport truck as a group of motorcyclists travelling together on Highway 401 slowed traffic while performing stunts.

A group of motorcyclists also slowed traffic and performed stunts on Highway 427 on Sept. 22, 2016.