Judge: I’d break a clamp on my bike too

Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner dismissed a willful damage charge against a 41-year-old Paget man today after Prosecutor Takiyah Burgess was unable to cite the law that gave the Bermuda Hospitals Board the right to clamp his bike wheels.

During today’s Plea Court session, Ms Burgess told Mr Warner that on 11 April this year, security officers at the BHB clamped the front wheel of Tracey Lima’s bike and issued a ticket after the man left it parked in a reserved bay. Subsequently the officers noticed the wheel and clamp were missing and placed another on the rear wheel of the vehicle.

Later that afternoon, Mr Lima was spotted on CCTV tampering with the second clamp but by the time security officers reached the area where the bike was parked, it and Lima were gone. Police were called and the man was eventually spotted pushing the vehicle along Berry Road in Paget. When stopped he gave the damaged clamp to the Police and said: “I told them I was going to break it off.”

After hearing the evidence, Mr. Warner asked: “So what is he guilty of? If I found a clamp on my bike I would break it off too. Show me the authority where the BHB or any other authority has the right to clamp vehicles? I notice the Corporation of Hamilton does it all the time.”

As he referred to the defendant, Mr. Warner continued: “They trespassed on his cycle and put the lock on it. They cannot interfere with vehicles without authority except by laws passed by Parliament. If he parked wrongly there are appropriate fines, but they can only do what they are authorized to do by law. He has a right to knock it off. The Corporation of Hamilton has been spoken to by several people but they continue to do it too.” 

When Ms Burgess could not readily provide any law giving the BHB the right to clamp Lima’s bike, Mr. Warner told the man he was free to go and added: “You can take me to Judicial Review for refusing to hear the matter. It can be heard there.”