Kingston city councillor Peter Stroud had his first appearance in court scheduled for Thursday morning, but neither he nor his lawyer attended despite a prior tweet stating he’d be there.

While represented by local lawyer Paul Blais, Ottawa criminal defence lawyer Celine Dostaler requested Stroud’s next appearance to be on Sept. 19 to allow disclosure to be exchanged. Neither Stroud nor his lawyer were required to attend in person.

Dostaler was not prepared to speak to the Whig-Standard early Thursday afternoon.

Kingston Police charged Stroud on July 11 with causing a disturbance and mischief under $5,000 for an incident they said occurred on June 23. He was given Thursday for his first appearance in court.

In a series of tweets sent on July 16, Stroud stated:

“I will be facing the charges on the court date with the help of legal counsel,” he wrote.

“I cannot comment further at this time as the case is before the courts(.) I ask the press not to contact me about this personal matter, but respect my privacy at this time.”

The charges stem from an incident Kingston Police allege occurred on June 23.

Police said in a news release that Stroud chased after a Kingston Transit bus on his bicycle with his child. They said that once he caught up with the bus and it had stopped, he went in front of it, placed his child on the ground, and started to yell at and take photos of the driver.

According to the police, the incident was reported to them on June 24, and Stroud was asked to come in and speak to them the same day. They allege that Stroud initially refused and didn’t turn himself in until July 11.

When the story broke on July 12, Stroud initially refused to comment. He broke his silence on July 16 in the series of tweets. He said that he did not refuse to turn himself in and has been fully co-operative with police.

“I did not intend to upset anyone, and I sincerely apologize to anyone who was upset by my actions,” Stroud wrote in his post. “My intention was to gain access for my eldest child, who was refused service while arriving to an express bus stop before the scheduled departure.”

scrosier@postmedia.com

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