“Would This Be The Charge For The John Q. Public?”

OPP Constable Alexander Smith was issued a provincial offence notice for an unsafe "start from stopped position.".

No demerit points. Me thinks John Q. Public would have a Careless Driving charge applied, as how can you not see a big yellow school bus?

Charges were only laid after public outcry as initially the statement was no charges would be laid.

If the evidence suggests the officer accelerated from a stopped position into the back of the bus, the charge is correct. The offence carries 2 demerit points. I don't see where in the article is says the charge was only laid after public outcry.

Above is the original news article, and social media lit up with comments of how he may have been texting, and how at time of press no charges had been laid. Full television media coverage and questions being asked, until the charges were announced.

I understand the perceived favouritism considering rear end collisions typically result in a careless driving charge. But the notion that charges were only laid after public outcry is not supported by either article. The second article states the accident was still under investigation at press time, not that no charges were pending. Social media speculation is just that, speculation. Without some evidence to support that the officer was text messaging on this phone at the time of the collision a distracted driving charge would not be supported.