Staff, residents ‘terrified’ during attempted break-in at Vernon seniors’ home

Residents and staff were shaken up after staff say a man attempted to break into a Vernon seniors’ home while wielding a large knife.

At about 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, staff at Vernon Restholm saw a man about 40 years old trying to get in through the kitchen door, according to Jerry Tellier, general manager.

“He started kicking the door, and the staff tried to tell him to go away,” said Tellier, who was at home at the time but was immediately notified of the incident by staff at the non-profit seniors’ residence.

Tellier said that roughly five minutes after the kicking started, staff called the police.

“From there it just escalated,” he said.

According to Tellier, the suspect was kicking all of the doors he came across, throwing patio furniture and yelling, all the while holding an eight-inch knife.

“It was about 36 minutes before the police arrived,” said Tellier.

“The staff and the residents were terrified.”

Five 911 calls were placed, according to Tellier. The third call was when the knife was reported.

Tellier said police arrived 15 minutes after that call was made.

Tellier says that when the Vernon RCMP arrived, an officer told him he was there within three minutes of being notified of the incident.

Tellier, an eight-year veteran of the Calgary Police Service, was quick to blast Vernon RCMP for their response and investigation.

“I understand the first two calls and the delay for them because they’re busy,” he said.

“I don’t understand the delay when the knife (was reported), and there’s nobody that’s been able to tell me.”

Tellier was called by his staff to come to the home and help before police arrived. He said that once he got there, the officer on scene spent three minutes investigating the incident.

“What really is frustrating is the officer who handled this case, he didn’t handle it. He didn’t want to do anything — that’s how he handled it,” Tellier said.

“That’s bad for the entire RCMP and the police department to see incompetence like that.”

Jerry Tellier’s brother Maurice said he believed police were “flooded with calls” at the time.

“From my understanding, (Vernon RCMP) had just an absolutely unusual amount of calls at that particular time, and I can’t say what priority we were,” he said.

“I understand that there are only so many police that can be out, and they were flooded with calls.”

Jerry Tellier said RCMP later assured him they would investigate further.

Global News reached out for comment on this story but the Vernon RCMP was unavailable.

–More to come

–With files from Jules Knox