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“Is my son just an outlaw messenger cyclist who is a trouble-maker, has a bad record and therefore is dispensable?” he asked. “Or is Mr. Bryant an upstanding pillar of society, former member of the government, potential premier of the province or whatever? Is he somehow more important in the scales of justice than my son? I don’t know.”

Mr. Sheppard told the assembled that, within the past year, he has obtained new details regarding the death of his son from Freedom of Information documents.

“Mr. Bryant did not give his version of the event until almost seven months later, giving him enough information and time to craft a scenario to suit the known facts,” Mr. Sheppard said. “Much of what Mr. Bryant said about the incident is uncorroborated, except by his wife, whose version, in turn, is corroborated only by Mr. Bryant.”

The father added that his research shows that there are factual errors in evidence from witnesses as to his son’s previous behaviour.

“Testimony of 19 witnesses on the scene of the event that led to my son’s death has been ignored or minimized,” he added.

Mr. Sheppard chuckled when asked about his relationship with his son, whom he took in as a foster child at age six and later adopted, saying it was “frustrating.” He talked about his son’s charm, intelligence and aspirations to become a stand-up comedian but also about his “propensity to make the same mistakes” more than once. He said the boy spent time in jail, lived on the street and had trouble holding down job, but became happier and more focused in his last two years, after he joined Toronto’s bike courier community.