‘It was pretty scary’: Halifax neighbourhood shaken after police chase

Residents of a quiet Halifax neighbourhood are shaken after a police chase Sunday afternoon sped through several lawns and ended with a suspect vehicle wedged between a building and fence.

According to a Halifax Regional Police release, officers first “noticed” a vehicle that had been reported stolen from Pictou County at around 2:45 p.m.

It was heading inbound to Halifax on Old Sambro Road, and patrol members tried to conduct a traffic stop, but the vehicle fled.

The truck was soon found on Randolph Street, which is a cul de sac.

Neighbour Jay O’Hearn heard the commotion.

“I was watching the football game, I heard something that sounded like a plow, thought it was odd for this time of year,” he said.

“Looked out the window, saw two police cars chasing a truck.”

Police said officers tried blocking the vehicle, but the driver “repeatedly rammed the stolen car into two police cars.”

O’Hearn said he watched the truck tear through the cul de sac.

“Up on my neighbour’s lawn, and through, almost hit that tree, hit the swing, the swing goes up in the air. It was pretty scary,” he said.

“There are a lot of kids on this road, street I should say, so at any given time you might have 20 kids out here playing.”

On social media, at least one other neighbour expressed anger over the situation.

Police said two officers suffered minor injuries.

The truck eventually got to the nearby Towerview Road, where it ended up wedged between a building and a fence.

A 39-year-old man was arrested and faces “numerous charges.”

O’Hearn said he was very shaken up by what occurred. During the incident, he rushed out to look for his own children and later called his wife to tell her what happened.

“I called her and said, ‘I don’t think you realize how close we were of something very, very bad happening in the neighbourhood today,'” he said.

“It’s a dead end street. You see three cars a day … so to see this was mind-blowing.”

When asked for comment on the neighbours’ concerns for safety, a Halifax Regional Police spokesperson said there was no additional information to add other than the news release.

“We ask anyone with concerns about this incident to please bring forward any information by contacting our Professional Standards Division, so the matter can be looked at in totality,” wrote Const. Nicolas Gagnon in an email.