Police raid family home by mistake
OFFICERS LOOKING FOR A PREVIOUS OCCUPIER TAKE FRONT DOOR OFF ITS HINGES AND LEAVE SHOCKED COUPLE’S POSSESSIONS SCATTERED AROUND HOUSE
A FAMILY in Arnold say they feel “violated” after their home was wrongly raided by police.
Krista Camina, along with her two children and partner Mark Sangster, had recently moved into their home in Birchfield Road.
After being there for a few months, they went away for a few days in September this year.
Ms Camina’s daughter, who was staying with a relative while they were away, visited the property to check everything was OK.
On Sunday, September 26, she arrived in the morning to discover the door had been taken off its hinges and the home searched – after police had showed up earlier that day.
Ms Camina said: “We just couldn’t believe it. Police had raided our house believing a man who used to live there was still at the address.
“The door had been smashed in and they had just boarded it up afterwards. It was screwed in by bolts from the outside – so it would have been so easy for anyone to get in.”
Pictures sent to the Post by the family show the damage done to the house, with the door completely taken off and items left scattered around various rooms of the house.
In a document shared with the Post, it was confirmed that only one item – a mobile phone belonging to Mr Sangster – was seized by police.
This was later returned. “Me and my daughter had to sleep in the living room afterwards until we got the door fixed,” Ms Camina continued.
“We just didn’t feel safe. We felt like our home had been violated. They had gone through all our things and left the place in a complete mess.
“I don’t think it’s right. We’ve been left to deal with everything.”
When she contacted police, she was told to claim back for the damage on her insurance.
Ms Camina says she rents out several other properties and so claiming on her insurance will affect her premiums. She has since lodged a formal complaint with Nottinghamshire Police about what happened.
A spokesperson for Nottinghamshire Police said: “We have been made aware of an official complaint that has been made in relation to this incident and the matter is being investigated by our Professional Standards Department.
“The force takes such complaints seriously and the occupant will be updated as soon as the full circumstances have been established. We are unable to comment further at this stage.”