Manitoba senior ticketed for use of nonexistent phone
30/03/2012 11:51:46 AM
CTVNews.ca Staff
A Manitoba senior citizen is off the hook after being ticketed for talking on a cellphone while driving. Good thing, he says, because he doesn't even own one of the modern gadgets in the first place.
A police officer in Brandon ticketed Ernie Galatiuk while he was on his way to a lunch with his wife and friends. The surprised senior tried to convince the officer to search his car to prove there was no cellphone he could have been using, but the officer refused, suggesting Galatiuk had thrown the phone out the window.
Galatiuk described his incredulous conversation with the officer to CTV Winnipeg on Thursday.
"I said, 'OK, you guys are telling me that I had a cellphone. Could you guys find out the number for me so I know what it is?'"
The Crown eventually threw out the case, saying it could not see a reasonable likelihood of conviction.
"I don't have to appear in court or anything," said Galatiuk, who is 69 year old, according to media reports. "It's a total clearance, apparently."
He said it hasn't left him with hard feelings towards the local police force, but hopes the mistake will prevent others from going through a similar experience.
His case wasn't the first time a Manitoba senior without a cellphone was ticketed with the charge. A couple named Laszlo and Margaret Piszker were pulled over by Winnipeg police in early March, the admittedly technologically-inept Laszlo slapped with a distracted driving ticket.
"Everyone knows that Laszlo just doesn't understand electronics," Margaret told the Winnipeg Free Press at the time of the charge. "If he had a cellphone, he wouldn't know how to use it. He's only just learned to get the DVD to work with the TV."
The Piszkers are fighting their ticket, while the Winnipeg police say they are standing by the officers who issued it.
With files from CTV Winnipeg
http://news.sympatico.ctv.ca/home/manitoba_senior_ticketed_for_use_of_nonexistent_ph one/1fdc4e88
30/03/2012 11:51:46 AM
CTVNews.ca Staff
A Manitoba senior citizen is off the hook after being ticketed for talking on a cellphone while driving. Good thing, he says, because he doesn't even own one of the modern gadgets in the first place.
A police officer in Brandon ticketed Ernie Galatiuk while he was on his way to a lunch with his wife and friends. The surprised senior tried to convince the officer to search his car to prove there was no cellphone he could have been using, but the officer refused, suggesting Galatiuk had thrown the phone out the window.
Galatiuk described his incredulous conversation with the officer to CTV Winnipeg on Thursday.
"I said, 'OK, you guys are telling me that I had a cellphone. Could you guys find out the number for me so I know what it is?'"
The Crown eventually threw out the case, saying it could not see a reasonable likelihood of conviction.
"I don't have to appear in court or anything," said Galatiuk, who is 69 year old, according to media reports. "It's a total clearance, apparently."
He said it hasn't left him with hard feelings towards the local police force, but hopes the mistake will prevent others from going through a similar experience.
His case wasn't the first time a Manitoba senior without a cellphone was ticketed with the charge. A couple named Laszlo and Margaret Piszker were pulled over by Winnipeg police in early March, the admittedly technologically-inept Laszlo slapped with a distracted driving ticket.
"Everyone knows that Laszlo just doesn't understand electronics," Margaret told the Winnipeg Free Press at the time of the charge. "If he had a cellphone, he wouldn't know how to use it. He's only just learned to get the DVD to work with the TV."
The Piszkers are fighting their ticket, while the Winnipeg police say they are standing by the officers who issued it.
With files from CTV Winnipeg
http://news.sympatico.ctv.ca/home/manitoba_senior_ticketed_for_use_of_nonexistent_ph one/1fdc4e88