No gun but damage done!

#theyhadakey

Under a month to Christmas should be a time of excitement and joy. But for our friends Timothy J Anderson and Candas Jane Dorsey, it turned into a time of stress, shock and confusion. We all know that even a simple break-in can be distressing and costly on many levels. But this story is not a simple break-in story and comes with unfortunate further distress and much cost made by our well-meaning city police department. Before you read the story below, you need to know that Timothy and Candas have spent their whole lives helping others in many meaningful ways. Their charitable approach to life is a daily event for them. These are people we need in our world. And now we need to help these people. This is their story below in Candas' own words.

"Last Thursday after a lovely dinner out with our friend Jane B., we were getting ready for bed. I heard some thumping and then the alarm went off, saying there was an issue in the basement. Timothy went outside to look through the window and there was indeed an intruder, who turned and pointed something black at him. Was it a gun? It looked like maybe...

"Police were called, but adding the words 'he might have a gun' rather sharpened the response time--and the scale of the response. Soon we were waiting up on our second floor while SWAT tactical vehicles and people with guns and other people in squad cars and unmarked white SUVs blocked streets, surrounded our house, and the police helicopter looked down on us with infrared scopes.

For the next nine hours, the intruder hunkered down and refused to come out. I have to admit, it's reassuring when you think your house has a person with a gun in it to know there are people at the other end of a 911 call who are prepared to come and deal with this problem--but keep reading.

Halfway through the siege we were escorted out, and we handed the cops the key to the back door (where safe entry could be effected as the door is not overlooked by any windows), and spent some time in our car and then at the neighbours' house across the street, where we could see the eventual exit of the intruder, who seemed to have taken off most of his clothes and came out into the chilly morning half-naked and thin and generally not living up to the danger vibe he'd originally projected at Timothy.

No handgun has yet been found, although the intruder's coat and pants and socks and shoulder bag were.

But wait, there's more! When it was all settled, I took a walk down the side of the house and happened to notice, as one might happen to notice such a thing, that one of the police's huge "tactical vehicles" was IN, that is to say filling up, our back yard. Despite having the key - THEY HAD A KEY - the second shift of police had decided to 'breach' the back door, using a ram on the front of their tactical vehicle.

This is rather hard to do, as our back yard is a bit of an urban orchard. And fenced. Well, it was fenced. The police cut down the fenceposts, removed the fence, cut down a mature pear tree and an Ohio buckeye, moved a raised garden bed and compost bin, and drove over a grapevine, a buried peach tree and some fruit bushes, and then their vehicle got hung up on a tree stump that we had legit cut down just before the snow fell. Fluids from the engine spilled all over the yard, and soaked into snow and ground. The vehicle didn't make it to the door, so the only damage to the door is from the original entry of the intruder.

I was far too tired to do anything but laugh helplessly as I watched the rest of our fence being removed so that a big Cat front-loader could come in and tow away the damaged armoured vehicle, leaving our yard looking, to put it mildly, the worse for wear."

Candas Jane Dorsey

The list of damage is long for Timothy and Candas. The intruder forced the back door, then spent his hours in the basement creating chaos by throwing plants, papers and clothes around emptying closets and boxes, and damaging light fixtures and other items. Then the SWAT team's response left two windows broken, drywall pierced by flashbangs, and the tossed belongings trod on by police boots as they cleared the place. Not to speak of all the fruit trees and bushes, the lawn, the bedding plant area and compost and even the basement drywall damaged. Never mind how to find the time to deal with insurance, a city claim and contractors. Their Christmas time of what should have been joy and excitement became daunting, discouraging and overwhelming. And that's where we all come in! If we can raise a mere $7,000 to help cover the insurance and city funding shortfall, we can give them their Christmas joy and excitement now in the new year. Please give what you can. This is what community means.

We appreciate any donation you're able to make, and please share with friends and family as well. Tim and Candas are usually the ones helping others, so this is a great opportunity to show them some love in return.