Given the amount of attention being given to the Exclusive Mondays meets by Laval police, I thought it would be helpful to meet with their public relations department with the goal of clarifying their intent and objectives to tuning enthusiasts.
MontrealRacing.com has been used many times before as a tool that police can use in order to educate and inform the community of their intent. In 2004 I met with Commander Giguère of Station 24 which is responsible for policing the Orange Julep with the goal of crafting a message for enthusiasts. Also in 2004 I met with SPVM Station 5 representatives to see if the Lafleurs des Sources meet would be allowed to continue. In 2007 I met with André Côté at the SPVM after rules on illegal modifications started being heavily enforced. This morning I met with Lieutenant Guérin of the Service de Police de Laval.
Lieutenant Guérin explained to me that the reason we are seeing a heavy presence of law enforcement around the Monday meets is due to the behavior of some of the people who attend. There is no problem with gatherings of car enthusiasts on private property and he cited the Laval Autosport Friday evening muscle car meets on Le Corbusier as an example of meet that is successful. When drivers decide to speed, do burnouts and endanger the public, that’s when the police have no choice but to intervene.
I’ve always departed from these meetings with law enforcement with an appreciation and respect for the job they are tasked with. Many of these officers are car enthusiasts themselves are some are even members of the forum (Brian O’Connor style). Any ill-will should be directed solely at individuals who ruin the meets for everyone else.
Reckless driving is pretty much the reason every meet in the history of meets has been targeted by police. Not much has changed between 2004 and today (other than my receding hairline which is clearly documented in the photos from the articles I’ve linked above). This shouldn’t be news but every few years with the influx of new enthusiasts, a refresh is required.
Cedric Tam, who organizes the meet, made a post to the meet Facebook page asking participants to kindly observe the rules of the road. He’s been told by police that they will give him an opportunity to prove he can ensure Monday nights at Patates 2000 is a safe and secure environment. That’s quite generous of them to be honest. Let’s see what happens!
Discussion: http://www.montrealracing.com/forums/showthread.php?889612-My-Meeting-with-Laval-Police
The message from police has been consistent for years:
Danny Geraghty speaks with Lt. Guérin from the Laval Police. Aug 13, 2015
Danny Geraghty meets with André Côté of the SPVM in 2007
Danny Geraghty meets with Commander Giguère of SPVM station 24 in 2004.
