A social media post has ignited a debate about something every Vancouver driver has dealt with: a VPD officer using their flashers to bypass traffic lights.
Kyla Lee, a Vancouver-based lawyer with expertise in traffic laws, sparked this debate.
She expressed frustration about a situation she experienced, and VPD Deputy Chief Howard Chow responded.
Lee called the conduct she experienced “pretty disgraceful.”
According to a post on X by Lee, she was sitting at a red light in a dedicated left turn lane when a police officer pulled up behind her. She said he then activated his emergency lights and sirens, causing her to move out of the way to the right and allowing the police vehicle to turn left.
Lee is a lawyer who defends folks who have been hit with DUIs. She said the police officer then deactivated their lights and kept driving.
Your lights and sirens are not a free pass to not wait at a red light. If you’re responding to an emergency that requires lights and sirens, that’s one thing.
— Kyla Lee (@IRPlawyer) June 4, 2024
Many sided with the police officer in question.
One X user responded, “Has it occurred to you (as I hope it would, given your chosen vocation) that the officer needed to get somewhere quickly but without causing a commotion?”
Others understood her frustration.
Years ago, an RCMP cruiser whizzed past me at a stop light. About 20 secs later, I saw it going up a hill, lights still flashing. When it got to the top of the hill, lights went off, and it pulled into a Tim Horton’s.
— ABeducator (@ABeducator) June 4, 2024
A VPD officer responded to Lee’s traffic woes, and Lee replied with a reference to the relevant law.
I disagree. There are VERY limited circumstances in which this would be justified. pic.twitter.com/1ZQjkqNPPS
— Kyla Lee (@IRPlawyer) June 5, 2024
VPD Deputy Chief Chow chimed in with various reasons why this conduct might have occurred.
Lots of reasons, like:
– Call cancelled
– Officers onscene downgrade cover needed
– Unit closer comes avail
‘Deactivating’ is the right thing to do.
We spend all shift in our cars, doubt saving 10 min to get in front of you is the motivation. #contextmatters #dutynotdisgrace https://t.co/UMDQsa4ZNm— Howard Chow (@DeputyChow) June 5, 2024
This reality has been debated often. Just months ago, a thread in the Vancouver subreddit received nearly 100 comments about the topic.
Does this annoy you or do you understand the need for police to do this, giving them the benefit of the doubt?