It’s a complex story but the long and short of it is that the local Ontario MINI Club has a spring a fall charity rally around a road called the “Rattler”. Apparently as is customary in the area, the club let the police know that there would be a large group of MINI’s driving the road as part of a charity event. Apparently the police (known locally as the OPP) took it upon themselves to not only use the opportunity as a speed trap but they also notified the local television channel to make sure it was fully covered in the media.

So with the MINI club having notified the OPP of the charity event cruise, the route, the timings and the number involved, the police were ready with all the information they needed to execute one of the most unnecessary stings we’ve ever heard of.

Here’s an except from thegarageblog about what transpired:

>When the convoy approached the Memorial Avenue junction with Highway 11 the convoy noticed flashing blue and red lights approaching from the right and naturally assumed that it was emergency vehicles responding to an accident. They were totally surprised to realise that they were the focus of the OPP’s attention. Some pulled to the left to allow the emergency vehicles to merge onto the highway; some had to brake hard to avoid hitting the car in front and those in the front, aware of the reality pulled over immediately closely followed by OPP cruisers.

But perhaps worse was the story that the media then ran with. The video indicated that multiple cars were impounded and those who had children with them had Children’s Aid (the Canadian Child after Dept) notified.

You can read more over at thegarageblog in part 1 and part 2 of their coverage.

You can also see the local TV coverage here (click on the monday the 26th… on the side and its the first news story).