Winnipeg police are condemning a car dealership flyer delivered with a city tabloid newspaper today that depicts an officer and a pedestrian getting run-down by a crazed motorist.
The full-colour, letter-sized cartoon insert depicts five red-nosed people partying in a car being driven irresponsibly by a wild-eyed man.
Illustration on auto dealer's flyer Winnipeg police found offensive.
As the driver speeds through a red light at a crosswalk, a police officer appears to be fleeing for his life as the vehicle tries to run him down.
Passengers in the vehicle are also depicted to be consuming what appears to alcohol and smoking- others vomit out the car’s window into the street.
The flyer, placed in the Winnipeg Sun by McDougall Auto Superstore, a city used auto dealership asks readers to “steal a deal off our lot.”
The advertisement comes barely a week after a Winnipeg cab driver was killed at Portage Avenue and Maryland Street when a stolen SUV ran a red light and smashed into it.
In a statement, police said they had contacted the car dealership to let them know how they felt.
“We feel it’s very inappropriate in light of events in the city over the last few months,” a police spokeswoman said, adding the dealership was receptive to their concern.
McDougall Auto Superstore’s general sales manager, would only give his first name, “Sam,” said the ad was developed by an outside agency, and plans to run the ad in the future had been pulled.
Winnipeg Sun publisher Kevin Klein, apologized to readers offended by the content of the ad and said the newspaper would be reviewing its policy and procedures in respect to advertising inserts.
james.turner@freepress.mb.ca@freepress.mb.ca
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