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news
Child allegedly pushed over by cyclist in Belgium (Facebook video still)Cyclist who pushed child over sues her father for defamation
A cyclist in Belgium filmed pushing a child over on Christmas Day last year is now suing the child’s father for defamation due to his sharing of video of the incident online.
The footage the father posted to Facebook after the incident at Baraque Michel in the province of Liege went viral and was covered by media around the world, provoking shock and anger among many who viewed it.
A lawyer acting for the 62-year-old cyclist, who has not been named, says that his client was forced to stay indoors for several weeks because he felt threatened whenever he went outside, reports HBVL.
Patrick Mpasa had been filming his family in the snow at the nature reserve when the cyclist appeared round a corner on the path behind them and nudged five-year-old Neïa with his knee.
The cyclist, who lives locally, handed himself into police after an appeal and spent a night in the cells.
The public prosecutor pressed charges of intentional assault and battery to a minor, which could have resulted in a one-year prison sentence.
In March, however, a court in Verviers, while agreeing that he had been riding too fast and there was insufficient space to overtake safely, declined to impose an immediate custodial sentence, instead suspending it for one year.
> Suspended sentence for cyclist filmed knocking over five year old in Belgium
He was also ordered to pay the child’s family a token €1 in compensation.
In its decision, the court said that “the cyclist [had] dealt, by lack of foresight or precaution, an involuntary blow, without intention to attack the person of others, to Neïa.”
The court said that “the defendant should have taken into account the climatic conditions (snow and frost) and the presence of many people including children, on this holiday, to adapt his speed and his conduct.”
Factors taken into consideration in handing down a suspended sentence included the relative seriousness of the case, the defendant’s character and lack of previous convictions, the time he spent in custody, and the reaction on social media.
The two parties are now scheduled to meet next Thursday 18 November, with the trial itself expected to take place in autumn next year.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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14 comments
As the court decided the cyclist was careless not deliberate I'll say that it looked to me like his knee coming out was maybe just for balance.
What I do see though is a gormless mother who despite hearing a bike approaching did absolultely nothing to alert her child or get her to step aside. The child was equally oblivious. Shit happens to stupid people.
Video's here - https://go.skimresources.com/?id=80023X1531141&isjs=1&jv=15.2.1-stackpat....
I suggest a rephrase - "Shit is caused by stupid, selfish, self-entitled folks, who can't be ar*ed to slow down.
So let me get this right?
A*hole who knocks over kid attempts, and was convicted for it, attempts to be bigger A*hole by refusing to let the whole incident lie.
Has he never heard of the Streisand effect?
par for the course cycling here in the UK
Blame the cyclist. His kneeing of the girl was pretty spot on, got her out of his way.
Golden rule: always slow for children, animals and old people.
In most places, defamation has to be a false or misleading statement, so I'm curious as to how a video meets that criteria.
You don't have to have a case for your complaint to be heard. This is used to devastating effect by people with financial muscle to silence or otherwise bully people who might criticise them
This is one area (of very few) where the US legal system gets it right vs. the UK. Anti-SLAPP legislation allows the victim of a baseless lawsuit involving free speech to get the case dismissed and collect attorney's fees from the original plaintiff.
Same can happen in the UK legal system, and it's not just limited to "freedom of speech" cases.
There are plenty of times when a hopeless case will be dismissed with costs against the Claimant on an application for strike out or summary judgment.
I'm guessing the fact the dad said it was deliberate was the defaming part, when it was an accident, through idiocy
Possible, although I would imagine that making statements about other people's intentions would be classified as "opinion" rather than "fact" and wouldn't fall under defamation (not that I know how that's defined over there).
Did he say deliberate? And IIRC, the cyclist continued on without stopping with the classic, "I didn't know I had hit them". His knees must have been numb with the cold then.
It wasn't just the video, he commented on what happened, giving his (and frankly my, I saw the video at the time, made some waves here) appreciation that what happened was intentional. The reasoning of the complainant is that, because a judge found him innocent and held that the blow was unintentional and a consequence of lack of foresight, such statement is defamatory. He'll go to court waving that verdict. Under Belgian law it's also possible to start proceedings against someone who 'maliciously spreads information', even if the information is proven correct. What needs to be proven is that the info was spread with the sole intention of harming the other party (e.g. informing employers that someone was convicted for theft). Not at all certain that he'll win the case but the sour bastard is just being vindictive.
Don't know that it's relevant in this case, but you could probably argue that a video had been edited in such a way as to create a misleading impression - key context left out, speed changed to make actions seem more intentional, etc.