'Police are supposed to protect us': Winnipeg family says police told them alleged break-in was just a mistake

A Winnipeg couple is raising concerns over how Winnipeg police responded to their calls for help, after they interrupted a person allegedly breaking into their home in the middle of the night while they slept.

When officers arrived, the couple says they were told the whole thing was just one big mistake.

It was around 3 a.m. on Saturday when Racheal Blair was woken up by a banging on their door.

"I looked out and I saw a hooded figure slamming and trying to break in and open our patio sliding door. When that happened, I screamed," Blair told CTV News.

The incident was caught on their security cameras, which they installed following a previous break-in last summer.

The footage appears to show a woman climbing over Blair's fence, rifling through her garage, and making her way toward the home with a pair of garden shears.

Blair says the woman tried opening their door, startling her and her husband from their sleep.

"Me and my husband both jumped out that door so fast like, it was like fight or flight mode for us," she said.

With their two young children asleep inside, Blair, her husband and their dog gave chase, eventually tackling the woman in a park behind their house.

Blair said she called 911 while her husband held the woman, telling the dispatcher they had caught the person they believed was breaking into their home.

She said the dispatcher told them to let the woman go.

"He said that we need to go back to our residence, stop chasing the person – we could harm them or they could harm us."

However, Blair said they held the woman until police arrived and they were told to return to their home.

'THEY DIDN'T REALLY CARE WHAT WE HAD TO SAY': FAMILY FRUSTRATED BY POLICE RESPONSE

A while later, she says an officer came to their door and told them the woman they caught was intoxicated and was being let go.

"He just shrugged us off saying, 'You know what, actually this is just a case of a mistaken home. She's mistaken your home for hers,'" Blair recalled. "We were like, 'What are you talking about?' And he's like, 'She's your neighbour behind your house.'"

The Winnipeg Police Service told CTV News in an email that officers responded within six minutes of the call and spoke to all the parties involved, including the suspect.

Police said no arrest was made based on the information gathered at the time.

Winnipeg police declined an interview with CTV News, and would not answer any further questions about this incident.

Days after the alleged break-in, Blair said the police response has left her family feeling frustrated and abandoned.

"We just felt like they shrugged us off, and they didn't really care what we had to say," she said. "The police are supposed to protect us and they just didn't protect us that night."

Blair said she has made a complaint with the Winnipeg police professional standards unit, and has taken to social media to share their concerns. Since then, she said her neighbours and community members have shared similar stories of break-ins in the area.

"I thought that it's supposed to be sunny St. James in a friendly neighbourhood, but the last one to two years, the crime is just getting higher and higher," she said.

'YOU DON'T WANT TO ENCOURAGE VIGILANTISM': CRIMINOLOGIST SAYS

Michael Weinrath, a professor of criminal justice at the University of Winnipeg, is glad everyone made it out of the situation unharmed – but said it could have easily ended differently for the family.

"If you're going to confront people and track them down and hold them for police, it's a great story when you're successful, but it's a pretty sad story if you encounter lethal resistance," he said.

"I mean, you don't want to encourage vigilantism."

Weinrath warns people really need to think things through before intervening in a potentially dangerous home invasion or break-in. On top of the obvious safety concerns, he said there is also a chance you could be charged if you use excessive force.