Candas Jane Dorsey and Timothy Anderson are still waiting for a decision about whether they'll be compensated for what they estimate to be more than $15,000 in damage caused to their backyard after police responded to a break-in last November.
Meanwhile, the City of Edmonton recently denied a claim by Tzin Wine and Tapas on 104 Street after an arrest outside the restaurant last summer incurred nearly $3,000 in damages.
Property damage can happen in the course of police work. It can be tricky, however, to get compensated if your home or business is the site of police action that breaks things. We decided to take a closer look at what happens when police cause property damage, and what recourse you have if they do.
What happens if police damage your property?
"In the event of an EPS vehicle collision or incident involving damage to property, there is a form that has to be filled out and submitted to the City of Edmonton Insurance and Claims Management section," EPS spokesperson Cheryl Voordenhout said regarding the process for police.
Those impacted are able to submit a claim to the city for compensation, though there is no guarantee that it will be paid. City spokesperson Lindsay Yarmon told Taproot: "The city encourages people to pursue a claim under their own insurance policy where possible."
The program that pays out claims and premiums has an annual budget of about $10 million.
How often does this happen?
Of the 1,200 injury and damage claims received by the City of Edmonton in 2021, 116 were related to police activity. Of those, 61 were related to motor-vehicle crashes, and 55 were related to property damage and minor injuries. On those 55 claims, a total of $31,000 was paid out in 2021.
Most injury and damage claims against the city are related to things like construction activities, slips and falls, potholes, tree roots, and such.
Of the total claims received in 2021, there were 19 requests to review the decisions, three of which were related to the Edmonton Police Service, Yarmon said.
Candas Jane Dorsey estimates that more than $15,000 in damage was done to her backyard after police responded to a break-in. Officers removed a fence and two trees, and their armoured vehicle leaked fluids after hitting a stump. (Supplied)
How long does it take for claims to be addressed?
The City of Edmonton told Taproot that addressing a claim involves an investigation, including interviews with relevant parties, legal inquiries, and review of the evidence and associated records involving multiple business areas across the organization. The entire process can take between 120 to 180 days and sometimes longer depending on the complexity of the claim.
"No one has been in touch with us to discuss details of the alleged incident," Dorsey said at the beginning of February.
She submitted her claim at the end of November 2021 and was warned about the wait time.
"That slowness is a bit problematic because you don't want to live in the chaos of what's happened with all the broken stuff and the missing fence and so on," Anderson said. "But you don't know what you can really do if they haven't completed their investigation. Do we need to leave everything the way it is?"
"It was winter, we had broken windows from the police flash-bangs. We couldn't not fix them just because we might be out of pocket. The chaos of it was all around us," added Dorsey.
As time elapsed, Dorsey and Anderson decided to get their own insurance company involved and go through a parallel claims process. The hope is that they will be compensated for what was lost or damaged sooner, and their insurance would then try to recover the cost from the city.
In Tzin's case, co-owner Kelsey Danyluk told CBC that she filed a property damage claim with the city in August, and heard back from the city claims adjuster on Dec. 16 that no negligence was found on the part of the city or the police, as police were acting under lawful authority and used reasonable force to protect officers and the public.
What happens if the city adjustor decides the city isn't liable?
Yarmon said "the city treats each damage claim on a case-by-case basis, and strives to strike a balance by minimizing citizens' out-of-pocket costs where we can."
But if the city adjustor decides the city isn't liable for a claim, then the next course of action would usually be for the affected party to pursue compensation through their own insurance.
Despite deciding to go that route as they await a decision on their city claim, Dorsey and Anderson are worried about their insurance rates going up and are aware that there may be caps on what they can claim.
In the meantime, their friends have started a GoFundMe to help cover some of their costs.
Danyluk was notified in January that the city is reviewing the decision, but Tzin confirmed to Taproot this week that the situation remains unresolved. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi told Global News that he was concerned. "We are definitely going to take a deeper (look) into some of the procedures that the city follows," he said in January. "You know, being only here for three months now, I'm not as familiar with some of the legal ways that Edmontonians or businesses can go through, right? But this is something that we can absolutely ask our administration."
Can you sue for damage in small-claims court?
Legal action is another avenue to pursue compensation, though one that may be financially unfeasible for many.
As Edmonton lawyer Avnish Nanda explained, the law states that all suits against the police must go to the Court of Queen's Bench, the superior trial court for the province. He estimates that it would cost close to $3,000 to start the lawsuit, and pushing it to trial would cost "tens of thousands" of dollars.
He told Taproot that he has "dozens" of people calling him every year who are exploring their options after experiencing police damage. But the cases are difficult and often too expensive to get off the ground.
"The rules are stacked against someone trying to get compensation in these cases," Nanda said.