Cyclist in court for kicking out at police officer who stopped him riding bike on city centre shopping street

A cyclist has apologised for attacking a police officer who attempted to stop him riding his bike on a busy pedestrianised shopping street in Dublin, leading to the father-of-one being pepper-sprayed during the altercation.

45-year-old Thomas Connell kicked out at a garda during the “out of character” scuffle which ensued after he was stopped while cycling on Grafton Street, one of the Irish capital’s two main city centre shopping streets, Dublin District Court heard this week.

Grafton Street was permanently pedestrianised in 1982, with cyclists found riding their bikes on the street subject to a €40 fixed-charge notice, an on-the-spot fine introduced in 2015 as part of a series of measures intended, Ireland’s then-transport minister Paschal Donohoe said at the time, “to promote safe cycling practices and to discourage dangerous cycling”.

> "There's a fear of being bullied": Cyclists don't feel "recognised" by other road users, says transport expert

Dublin District Court heard this week that a garda sergeant was on duty on Grafton Street on 18 July 2021 when he saw father-of-one Connell cycling and directed him to get off his bike, the Irish Independent reports.

After the cyclist was stopped, he then began verbally abusing the sergeant before becoming more aggressive when asked for his details, kicking out at the garda and making contact with his stomach.

Pepper spray was deployed during the resulting affray, and Connell was arrested. The cyclist later apologised for his behaviour at the garda station, an apology that was repeated in court this week.

Connell’s lawyer also told the court that the cyclist – who was out of work while recovering from a recent injury at the time of the incident, and was helping out in a local charity shop – was “deeply embarrassed” by the attack, which he claimed was “most out of character” for him.

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He pleaded guilty to using threatening, abusive, and insulting behaviour and resisting a garda. He was also charged with failing to appear in court, which his lawyer claimed was the result of a mix-up and “scheduling errors”.

Judge Stephanie Coggans adjourned the case for the production of a probation report and remanded Connell on continuing bail until March.

The altercation on Dublin’s Grafton Street isn’t the first time that the enforcement of pedestrianised areas has been forcibly challenged by cyclists.

> “Stick it up your a*se”, 82-year-old tells council officer after being fined £100 for cycling in town centre

In October 2022, an 82-year-old cyclist, stopped by a council officer and issued with a £100 fine for breaching a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) banning cycling in Grimsby town centre, told the officer to “stick it up your arse” and refused to pay the fixed penalty notice.

“I’ve been riding my bike around here for 40 years and have never once been fined,” Barrie Enderby said at the time.

“When he gave it to me I told him, ‘stick it up your arse’. I’m more annoyed about it because my biking is what keeps me going. I won’t be paying it, I’d rather go to prison than give them £100. I’ve not got £100 spare to give them, that’s for sure.”

That particular town centre ban in Grimsby has attracted quite a bit of attention, with some locals accusing the council of targeting the “old and slow” and cyclists “they can get away with” for fines, and is one of a number of PSPOs introduced across the UK in recent years, in an apparent bid to quell anti-social behaviour in town centres.

> Council “escalates war on cycling menaces” with new town centre ban, saying: “We will not stop until we eradicate this behaviour”

Last month, North Lincolnshire Council claimed it had “escalated” and “intensified” its “war on cycling menaces” by implementing a complete ban on riding a bike in pedestrianised zones in Scunthorpe and Brigg, as part of a wider crackdown on what the local authority describes as the “scourge” of “irresponsible behaviour”.

However, the move has been heavily criticised by disabled cycling charity Wheels for Wellbeing, who argued that it had the potential to “deepen discrimination against cycling as a mobility aid”.

> Proposed city centre e-bike ban will “discourage cycling and penalise responsible cyclists,” says cycling and walking commissioner

And earlier in December, a controversial ban on e-bikes in certain pedestrianised parts of Coventry city centre was introduced, with the deputy leader of the council warning that riders can expect strict enforcement.

The new ruling, which prohibits e-bikes and e-scooters being ridden through sections of the city centre, was approved in November, as Coventry City Council passed a PSPO despite protestations from the West Midlands’ walking and cycling commissioner Adam Tranter, who argued such a ban would “discourage cycling and penalise responsible cyclists”.

Meanwhile, in August we reported on the thoughts of a transport researcher from Dublin, who claimed that the Irish capital – named in 2011 among the top 20 most bike-friendly cities in the world – has become markedly less hospitable for cyclists in recent years due to a lack of connected infrastructure and policing to keep spaces for cycling clear, with many cyclists now fearing for their safety as they believe they are not recognised by other road users.

“Fundamentally there are too many cars in the city. That makes it a very hostile and precarious environment for cyclists,” Dr Robert Egan, an engineer and research fellow at Trinity College Dublin’s Centre for Transport Research, said.

“But another big part is the disregard for dedicated cycling spaces. You see cars being illegally parked where cyclists are supposed to go, but then where you’re on the road, you’re being beeped at, honked, and being close-passed, so you’re not being treated as a full, entitled road user.

“And finally, there’s a lack of protection for cyclists as well. There’s a lack of policing keeping dedicated cycle spaces clear, and a lack of appreciation for how frightening cycling can be, when you can be bullied off the road if somebody is not confident.”