WATCH ABOVE: It was a surprise party that went horribly wrong when neighbours called police. Jessica Kent explains.
EDMONTON – It was supposed to be an epic way to send their buddy off into married life, but a bachelor party for an Edmonton groom went terribly awry when the police showed up at the man’s door with their guns drawn.
Ten of Landon McHardy’s best friends wanted to celebrate his last night as a single man with a bang, so the plan was to sneak into his house while he was at work, snatch him and take him to a friend’s house for a backyard barbecue and fire.
“We were going to kidnap him when he came into his house, home from work, by throwing a sleeping bag over him and taking off, throwing him in the back of the car and driving off to his bachelor party,” said Dan Tansy, the best man.
“But it didn’t quite go as planned.”
The group of men rented a U-Haul van and stormed up to the Ritchie-area house. With pantyhose over their heads, carrying pool noodles wrapped in duct tape, the men barged out of the van and into the home to get ready for the faux kidnap.
The group informed McHardy’s wife-to-be of the plans, and thought that would be good enough warning. They didn’t even think to inform the neighbours, many of whom ended up calling police.
As the men waited anxiously inside the home for McHardy to come home, they had a bit of surprise in store. As McHardy pulled up to the house after work, so too did police. The men say six squad cars, a ghost car, the K-9 Unit and the police helicopter were called to the home.
“They were yelling, ‘EPS, open the door!'” said Gavin Williams, who was also involved in the prank.
“Three officers guns drawn in the front, two in the back,” added Tansy.
WATCH: Video from inside the home as police show up
As all of this was happening, McHardy was watching from the front lawn. As he tried to enter his home police ushered him away.
“They approached the door with their weapons drawn and ‘BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, city police, open up.’ And yeah, shocked the crap out of everybody, the whole neighbourhood too,” McHardy said Tuesday.
After explaining to police it was just a prank for their friend’s bachelor party, the men say they were given a talking to by police.
“They were pretty upset, which is understandable … They told us it was an irresponsible decision,” said Williams. “The Edmonton Police Service was more than gracious.”
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“They understood we had good intentions but it was executed poorly,” added Tansy. “We had everything planned except informing the neighbours what we were doing.”
Albert Hurteau, who has lived in the area for 57 years, saw the whole thing unfold and figured it had to do with a bachelor party, but he understands why his neighbours would be concerned.
“It wasn’t a very smart move,” he said. “Who knows what people would think about this.”
In hindsight, the men say they should have told the neighbours what they had planned, and they understand why the police showed up.
After the police left the men carried on with the barbecue and backyard fire as planned. McHardy says it’s a bachelor party he will never forget.
“Memorable, for sure. That would be the word I would use,” he said.
Edmonton police say the incident took place on Thursday, June 18. The EPS issued the following statement to Global News:
“The Edmonton Police Service reminds citizens that mimicking criminal activity can cause concern in the community and result in the deployment of police resources, possibly pulling police away from those who may truly require assistance.”
No one was charged in the incident.
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