A woman whose home was stormed by police officers in a botched emergency call-out said the intrusion was like ‘something out of a film.’
Kellie Simm, 42, had a rude awakening after three officers rushed toward her front door at her home in Stoke-on-Trent on Tuesday morning.
Ms Simm was in bed after her husband left for work when she was disturbed by noise downstairs. Her ring door bell then captured footage of the emergency personnel rushing towards her front door, with one stumbling along the way.
The mix-up happened at around 7.40am after Staffordshire Police were called to reports of a sudden death on The Moat, in Weston Coyney.
Staffordshire Police has confirmed a woman was found dead on the same street.
Speaking to StokeonTrentLive, Ms Simms said she was unsure ‘if she was dreaming’ when the force entered her property.
She said: ‘They came storming into the house shouting ‘Police, police, police!’. I genuinely thought my husband had been in a car crash.
‘He’d just left for work a few minutes earlier. I was still sort of asleep, so I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming when they came in through my bedroom door.
Three Staffordshire Police officers (pictured) were captured on Kellie Simm’s ring door bell rushing towards her front door
Ms Simms was in bed when she heard commotion downstairs. She said the officers (pictured) came storming into her house shouting ‘Police, police, police!’
The mix-up happened after Staffordshire Police (pictured) were called to reports of a sudden death on the same street
‘They took a quick look and then said they’d got the wrong address and dashed off. One officer told me they’d just had a call saying that someone had suffered a heart attack and fell down the stairs.
‘I thought it was strange because you don’t usually send three police cars, a forensic van and two ambulances to a heart attack.
‘One of the police came back later and apologised for the whole thing. He asked if I wanted the incident number so I could make a complaint. I told him it was completely fine, I know they were just trying to act fast to help somebody.
‘Who could be mad about that? I’m just glad my door was unlocked after my husband left so they didn’t have to break it down!’
Ms Simms said although she is not angered by the event, it did frighten her.
She said: ‘Honestly, I totally cacked myself. It was like some drugs bust straight off TV. Obviously I knew I wasn’t in trouble or anything, but it still scares you.
‘We live on what is normally a very nice, quiet street. So to have police burst through your door that early in the morning is definitely a shock.’
Ms Simms added her biggest concern was the welfare of her neighbours.
She said: ‘Afterwards I went outside to see what was going on. There was a big commotion down the road. I couldn’t see much, but I saw some people were very upset an hour later. I knew something must have seriously gone wrong.
‘I was really hoping it was nothing sad or sinister. My neighbours are all lovely and we get along really well. I’d hate to see anything happen to any of them. I hope everyone is as good as they can possibly be.’
A spokesperson for Staffordshire Police said: ‘At around 7.30am today, we responded to a report of a sudden death in Weston Coyney. Sadly, a woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
‘In an effort to reach the casualty as quickly as possible and potentially administer life-saving medical care, officers initially entered the wrong address before speaking with ambulance staff who confirmed the correct address.
‘Ambulance staff were already at the scene so there was no delay in treatment.’
