Anti-SOGI protester remains in hospital after tractor chase on busy BC highway
A man remains in hospital after his tractor rolled over during a police chase on a Surrey highway, RCMP said.
In videos that have since been deleted from his Facebook page, the driver of the tractor identified himself as “a farmer in Chilliwack BC, Shoker Farms Limited.”
“I’m Bill Shoker, and we organized this [anti-SOGI] convoy,” he added.
@queergranddad Chilliwack farmer’s Facebook livestream. It seems like he took his FB page down.
In the video, which other social media users have reshared, Shoker is seen filming himself and other protesters driving from Abbotsford towards Vancouver. He goes on to encourage folks to join an anti-SOGI protest and urge parents to support the message.
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) is a curriculum intended to support educators in addressing sexual orientation and gender identity topics in the provincial curriculum.
There have been several high-profile protests against the curriculum; however, it appears the Saturday convoy led to traffic delays and an increased police presence.
Saturday’s police chase, which some remarked online was almost comically slow due to the tractor’s speed, ended with a collision captured on camera by another motorist.
In the video, the tractor can be seen rolling over following a pursuit by two police cruisers on the highway in Surrey.
On Monday, RCMP provided more details about the crash.
“On November 25, at approximately 1:20 p.m., officers with the British Columbia Highway Patrol attempted to pull over a tractor which was travelling westbound on Highway 1 near the 176 street turn off. Officers had reportedly attempted to pull the tractor over for an extended period while it was part of a convoy that was heading to Vancouver,” the BC RCMP release reads in part.
“During the interaction, the tractor and police vehicle collided, the tractor inverted, and came to a rest on its side, resulting in the driver suffering non-life-threatening injuries,” S/Sgt. Kris Clark said.
The British Columbia Highway Patrol officer was not hurt.
As of Monday afternoon, no charges have been laid for this incident.
The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) confirmed it has been called in. The IIO is an oversight agency that investigates incidents of death or serious harm that may have been the result of actions or inactions from a police officer in BC.
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