Sharon Dorr gives birth to baby boy
His father, Steve Mesic, died on June 7 after a confrontation with police
The Mesic family has a new light in their lives — a healthy baby boy.
Dominic Steve Mesic was born Tuesday morning at 11:43 a.m. at seven pounds seven ounces. Both the baby and his mom, Sharon Dorr, are “in great condition,” says Norm Dorr, Sharon’s dad.
“We’ve got a little Steve on our hands,” Dorr told CBC Hamilton. “It was the light at the end of the tunnel.
“It was just what everyone needed.”
Dominic’s father, Steve, died on June 7 after a confrontation with police. After checking himself out of a voluntary mental health care program at St. Joseph's Healthcare, Mesic was seen wandering in traffic on the Lincoln Alexander Parkway by the Upper Wentworth Street ramps.
After telling him to get off the road, two officers confronted Mesic in a grassy embankment next to his home. The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) says he was shot several times. The official investigation is still ongoing.
Two Hamilton Police officers have been deemed "subject officers" in the case — meaning they may be judged criminally responsible for Mesic's death. The officers haven't been publicly identified and no charges have been laid.
Dorr says the newest Mesic will no doubt end up on a motorcycle one day. “In this family, he won’t have much choice,” he laughed. Both Dorr and Steve were avid riders.
“He’ll start out on dirt bikes and we’ll go from there,” he said. “One day he’ll be riding at his father’s memorial ride.”
The first annual Steve Mesic memorial ride from Hamilton to Port Dover was held last month. It was started by the family to raise money for people struggling with mental health issues.
The Dorr and Mesic families were present at last week’s Police Services Board meeting. Both police chief Glenn De Caire and Mayor Bob Bratina offered condolences to the family over the shooting — something Dorr says is too little, too late.
Bratina stepped down from his role as board chair later that week, and said that his role on the board conflicted with how he wanted to respond as mayor to Mesic’s death.