After a police car hit a family of geese near her home, this woman is calling for action
After a Windsor police cruiser hit and killed a family of geese in front of her home, a LaSalle, Ont., woman is calling for more signs to alert people to the geese who nest in the area each spring.
Michelle Baillargeon says that every spring since she bought her home in 2020, her property — on the boundary between LaSalle and Amherstburg in southwestern Ontario — is used as a nesting ground for families of Canada geese.
Given that each evening they cross the road in front of her home to get into the Canard River, she's taken to monitoring the geese, helping control traffic while the geese cross the road. The tradition started after a family of geese was hit and killed by a car her first year in the home.
"That was very traumatic for us our first year living here," Baillargeon said. "Ever since then, it has been my mission to cross the geese every night just so we don't see that kind of tragedy again."
The tradition continued this year, with about half a dozen adult geese and around 40 goslings using her yard.
Michelle Baillargeon's home security camera picked up the moment a Windsor police cruiser hit a family of geese in the road in front of her home near Amherstburg. (Submitted by Michelle Baillargeon)
But last week, Baillargeon says she wasn't out around 9 p.m. watching the geese cross — and a Windsor police cruiser came down the road, hitting and killing an adult goose and four goslings.
She caught the encounter on two home security cameras, and spoke with her neighbour after the incident. CBC News has seen footage of the incident.
Baillargeon believes inattention must have played a role, since there were no police sirens flashing at the time to suggest the officer was responding to an emergency.
"This wasn't one or two geese that could easily be missed and could be hit. This was 40 geese in the middle of the road."
She says her camera doorbell and a security camera picked up the cruiser hitting the brakes and screeching to a halt, but not in time to avoid hitting the geese. A few moments later on the tape, the police cruiser circles back with lights on to stop traffic.
She says she's reached out to police and the police board.
Crash investigated by Professional Standards Branch
A spokesperson for Windsor police, which provides policing in Amherstburg, said the service was "saddened" by the incident.
LISTEN: Police cruiser hits geese near Amherstburg
"The incident was investigated by our Professional Standards Branch, who determined the officer involved followed the proper protocols in this unfortunate situation," a spokesperson said in a statement.
"Following the collision, the officer immediately contacted police dispatchers for additional support and requested the assistance of both the Wings Rehabilitation Centre and Windsor/Essex County Humane Society."
In the wake of the crash, Baillargeon says the geese have been "skittish"
"Their behaviour has been a bit different. They've started crossing on the other side of the creek," Baillargeon said. "As soon as they get near the road and they hear any loud sound, they run away from the road and sometimes they'll go back into the creek.
A LaSalle woman says a family of geese were killed on the road near her home. She wants more signs in the area so people will be aware that geese cross the road into the river there each night. (Michael Evans/CBC)
"I wait out there sometimes it's been 10 o'clock when I've crossed them. But I do get them across."
Now, she says she wants to see signs installed in the area to make people aware there are geese who cross the road in that spot.
Michelle Baillargeon says she wants new signs near her home to let drivers know about the family of geese that cross the road in the area. (Michael Evans/CBC)
"I'm not trying to get anyone in any type of trouble, but I feel that there should be proper signage out here to notify people that the geese cross here," she said. "It's been four years. [The geese] do it faithfully. So obviously it's going to keep happening."
Last year, police charged a driver for stopping for a family of geese on the E.C. Row Expressway. And earlier this year, two women died after being hit by a car while helping a turtle cross the road in Chatham-Kent.
Check mirrors more often, slow and pass carefully, drivers advised
The Ministry of Transportation's Driver's Handbook says in instances when animals are on the road, drivers should slow down and try to pass carefully "as they may suddenly bolt onto the road."
It's incumbent on drivers to make sure they're watching for all potential hazards, says driving instructor and owner of IQ Driving School Youssef Kader.
Kader says drivers should attempt to slow and stop when an animal is on the road, but they should do so being highly aware of their surroundings, especially checking their rearview mirror for other traffic.
Kader says they teach drivers to be checking their mirrors every five to nine seconds.
"We tell [students], keep safe distance between you and the object in front of you, about four seconds. We don't say distance, we say time, for the vehicle to stop."
