Hamilton grandma says she and grandson nearly hit by police SUV

A Hamilton woman is upset she received no apology from police after she said she and her young grandson were nearly hit by a cruiser last week while walking on the Mountain.

Debbie Leduc initially didn't think anything of the Hamilton police SUV driving toward her on Fennell Avenue East, near Warren Avenue and Hoover Crescent, around 10:50 a.m. on Friday.

It was a slow-traffic morning, she said, and she was pushing her 10-month-old grandson strapped to a stroller.

The cop had his head down and was on his computer and I thought, Oh, he's checking the plates of a car,'" said Leduc, 57. All of a sudden, he hits the curb and mounts it. If he was any closer, he would have hit us. But he didn't look, didn't pay attention to us. He just kept going."

Leduc said the incident left her floored.

I was just in awe. It took me a few minutes to process what just happened," she said. Had it been any other driver, I would've been screaming. But it was a cop and I didn't think they would do that."

On Monday, Const. Inderjit Bharaj told The Spectator police are aware of the complaint and will follow up with Leduc.

When Leduc arrived home Friday, she and her daughter phoned the staff sergeant on duty at the Mountain division to warn them about what happened.

She said she was told the officer was en route to a nearby break-and-enter call and that he needs to use the computer for his job."

I said, That's fine. I understand that. But he also needs to have control of his car,'" she said. My daughter told them, Had you hit my mother and my son, that cop wouldn't have been going to no emergency and you would've had another one.'"

Leduc said she is disappointed her concerns were dismissed. She believes the close-call encounter points to a double standard in how driving laws are enforced.

Guaranteed, if you were driving and a cop was behind you, and you did what he did, you would be stopped and charged," she said. I'm just looking for some accountability, a sorry and that you'll be more careful."

Sebastian Bron is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sbron@thespec.com