It’s been four days since police stormed her house, and Christine Allison says she can still smell the tear gas.
Last weekend, B.C. RCMP say they were called to an incident near Hedley, where a man was arrested for carelessly using a firearm.
Highway 3 was closed for a period of time, with police stating “the Southeast District Emergency Response Team arrived and provided assistance, which led to the man safely being taken into custody.”
Allison says while her son may have been arrested during the incident, she was surprised, after coming home from work, to see the damage police wreaked: Two broken doors, several broken windows, emptied tear gas canisters and the four tires on her son’s truck had been popped.
And, she adds, her son was arrested while he was sleeping.
So, what happened?
According to Allison, she was working Saturday night, and her oldest son, Shane Allison, was intoxicated and shooting a .22-calibre gun into an empty field on their large, 78-acre property around 6:30 p.m.
A roommate staying at the house called the police, worried that Shane Allison might hurt himself.
Christine said another call went out to a relative, who came over and took the gun away. After that, she said her son went to sleep.
Later that evening, the quiet night was shattered.
Christine Allison’s youngest son, Ajay Allison, was home at the time when he received texts saying their property was surrounded by police.
“I walked up onto the porch and I heard these drones up in the air,” Ajay Allison said.
“So, I started looking up in the air looking around to see … but these two guys came from just out the bushes with night-vision goggles on and they told me to come here.
“I went down the stairs and I was talking to them and they said, ‘Oh, follow me off the premises. So I did. They didn’t even let me put my shoes on properly.”
While walking off the property, Ajay Allison said he told police that the gun had been removed from the property, that Shane Allison was sleeping, all the doors were unlocked and that there was a dog inside.
“Then they brought me into town and dropped me off at my sister’s (place),” said Ajay Allison.
Shane Allison was arrested, but Christine Allison said the family wasn’t allowed to return home until several hours later.
“I was devastated how the house … the condition of the house was like,” said Ajay Allison, noting the front door was kicked in. “I did not expect that because we got a call saying that we’re allowed to go back to the house. And I was like ‘OK, cool, go back to my house and relax.’ But I came back to my house, tear-gassed and broken windows.”
The family is now living elsewhere temporarily, due to the damage.
Also shocked by the damage, Christine Allison wants answers from the police.
“It was going to be our first Christmas back in here with my kids, my grandkids,” said Christine Allison. “I don’t have the money for this. I just got back to work. I had taken a year off of work … because we lost my daughter a year ago.”
RCMP declined an on-camera interview with Global News, but gave a statement.
“To ensure the safety of our officers, and the subject, certain tactics may be employed to facilitate physical entry into a premises,” said the RCMP. “Police recognize that damage may be caused by police actions and if that happens, they will engage their National Claims Management Program.
“Once police release the scene, the property representative can secure the building, repair any damages and seek compensation through the claims centre.”
“All they had to do was come to my door. My son told them he was sleeping, all the doors are unlocked,” said Christine Allison. “All you got to do is come in and he’s right here. He’s not going to do anything. He’s got nothing. There’s no weapons or nothing in this house.”
According to police, Shane Allison had several outstanding warrants for his arrest and had breached a court order to not be at this location.
He is being held in custody pending a court appearance and is facing multiple firearm offences.