Good morning!

One of the most infuriating stories to come out from over the weekend involved a Halifax Regional Police officer driving into a cyclist who allegedly stole from a grocery store and slamming the vehicle into a pole.

According to reporting from CBC, the suspect and one of the officers were transported to hospital while another officer was treated on-scene.

The suspect is charged with theft under $5,000, and possession of stolen property under $5,000.

As of writing, the Serious Incident Response Team has not indicated whether or not they’ll be investigating the matter. Regardless of their decision, two things are rather clear to me:

Someone stole from a grocery store. No offense to the big grocery CEOs, but so what? People are starving because wages are low and rent is at an all-time high. These conditions are a breeding ground for shoplifters, because most of the time, they don’t have any other choice.

No matter the propaganda grocery giants will propagate, we know from their executive’s salaries that they could stand to lose a box of KD now and again without feeling the financial hurt.

Alas, the police are complicit in defending property over peoples lives. No matter what he stole, I’m sure this person’s life is not worth the cost. Yet, a police officer ran them down anyway.

This is despicable behaviour, accident or not. The HRP should issue a formal apology. Will they? I doubt it. Chances are they’ll back this cop all the way through the investigation process, if there is one.

You wonder why there’s a massive distrust of the police. Well, here’s one reason.

– B

📷 @creamy_yet_smooth

Today: ☁ 9°

Tomorrow: ☁ 8°

Next Day: 🌧️ 10°

7-day forecast

🚗 Driving, biking or busing today? Check out the current traffic conditions and ongoing road closures.

Getting lost in distractions. Feeling the pressure to keep trudging on, even though you've been worked to the bone for too long. Doing anything you can to cope with the stress, the burnout.

Award-winning art-pop artist Mat Elliott debuts his first full-length record, Video Games, on April 29. Like his debut EP South Endings from last year, it sounds soulful, smooth, and synth-heavy. In true Mat Elliott fashion, it's also deeply personal.

The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer talks with Elliott about his brand new record out today.

🎾 The city is launching its “one membership” pilot project, making it easier to access municipal recreation facilities through lower prices for those with memberships at participating facilities—some facilities can be accessed with day passes at a discount of 75 percent.

⛽ According to a Narrative Research poll, Nova Scotians are changing the way they drive due to the increasing price of gas—92 percent of respondents say they are somewhat or extremely worried about the frequent price jumps.

⚖️ Former Halifax Alehouse bouncer Alexander Levy has been sentenced to four years in prison in the death of Ryan Sawyer on Christmas Eve 2022—in his sentencing, the justice called Levy’s actions “overzealous.”

🎉 Open City is just under two weeks away! See all the participating businesses here and start planning your route to shop and support local!*

🇨🇦 Join Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 for Oh Canada! Comedy Show in partnership with Halifax Comedy Fest. Tickets are only $10. Purchase now!*

*Sponsored Post

We're excited to sponsor Burger Bash again this year! To up the stakes, for every person switching from one of our competitors to Purple Cow, we're knocking $55 off your first bill aaand, we're going to make a $25 donation to Feed Nova Scotia. How awesome is that?

Switching is so easy that you can be done before your burger arrives at your table. So make the change, with our 30 day money back guarentee you'll only wish you did it sooner.

🚨 Five correctional officers were injured in a confrontation with an inmate at the Springhill prison, according to the union president—he says this is a growing problem within the prison system that leads to adverse effects on staff.

🐢 A couple have donated their Lunenburg County property in order to protect Blanding’s turtles, an at-risk species—Maggie Thomas and her late husband Richard Donat gave the land to the Nova Scotia Nature Trust.

🪪 A new web portal with permit Nova Scotians to renew their health cards online—the service is open to anyone over the age of 19 who have a health card and are Canadian citizens or residents of the province.

Looking for something to do this week? Check out these Coast picks:

🗓 The Ghost of Violet Shaw: The Eastern Front Theatre presents this Victorian-era farce featuring a family dealing with their supposed curse. | April 28-May 24 | 2PM, 7:30PM | $25+|

🗓 Radiant Ground: New Paintings by Marilyn McAvoy: Local artist Marilyn McAvoy’s new collection is on display at The Prow Gallery. | April 14-May 8 |

🗓 Live Jazz with The Matt MacLennan Trio: Bassist Matt MacLennan brings his three-piece band along for velvety ballads and smooth bossa novas at the Obladee. | April 29 | 7PM |

Have an event to share? Let us know at [email protected].

➡️ The MSC Shannon III container vessel departed Halifax for Malaga at 2:45am.

🚢 The Oceanex Sanderling container vessel arrives in Halifax from St. John’s at 7:20am.

🚢➡️ The Rockpiper special purpose vessel arrives in Halifax from Davisville at 7:30am and departs for Sheet Harbour at 3pm.

🚢 The Algoma East Coast tanker arrives in Halifax from Saint John at 9:45am.

🚢➡️ The Tirranna vehicle carrier arrives in Halifax from Southampton at 10:55am and departs for New York at 6pm.

🚢➡️ The Sarah Desgagnes tanker arrives in Halifax from Montreal at 4:15pm.

🥪 Another week, another delicious sandwich from Larry’s Sandwiches & Sides. House made ricotta, mortadella, sunflower seed basil pesto, spiced honey pistachios provolone and spring mix on a soft sourdough bun.

🌮 The Pint has its patio open for the season—just in time for Taco Tuesday. Mix and match Steak Picado, Chicken Tinga, Baja Fish and Korean Tofu, $3.50 each.

👕 Like many of us, Gavin Quinn is no stranger to mental health struggles. When he had faced those problems head-on, he recognized the importance of support, whether it be from friends, family, or organizations that specialize in mental health in all of its intricacies. Impassioned, Quinn began Outsider Insight, a mental health-focused art collective that raises money to support non-profits and charities that specialize in community programming, mental health initiatives and support systems. It usually does this through fashion, with $5 of every sale going to a partnered organization. The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer speaks with Quinn about his fashion line and what he has in store for the future.

🔥 Three people died in a Lower Sackville structure fire early Saturday morning—investigations are ongoing, with responders confirming the victims were a 43-year-old man, a 38-year-old woman and a 73-year-old woman.

🪫 A large power outage on the Halifax peninsula on Monday was allegedly caused by a crow—power was said to be restored an hour after the outage began, around 9:15am.

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