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The police also collected half-a-million rounds of ammunition that were turned in due to the catastrophe.

“They realized they had other things to take care of than firearms right now,” Ms. Valiquette said.

But for some, the gun seizure was just the apogee of a long and frustrating back-and-forth between police and High River residents.

Rob Giles, a gun owner and safety instructor, said his vaulted weapons weren’t seized, but emergency officials left his door lying in his yard while he struggled to gain access to his home.

“For 10 days they walked through the house with crap on their boots and looked in drawers,” he said, adding that he returned home to find his cupboards askew. He predicts whoever entered his home caused about $2,000 worth of damage to his door and floor — a cost he plans to recuperate in a class-action lawsuit if the RCMP don’t come through with a cheque.

Not every gun owner was incensed by the police’s actions. Terry Plunkett, who keeps prohibited antique weapons from the Second World War, said police didn’t touch his property — it was properly stored and secured.

“There were no signs of anything. They just went into the house to check to see if everything was there and that if there had been anyone in the house, that everyone had been OK. They saw nothing and moved nothing and changed nothing,” he said. “I think it was a little bit of hysteria, myself. The police were trying to get into the homes to make sure everyone was out of there are there were no problems. With this firearm thing, it’s more that people are trying to make something out of it.”

Mr. Kvisle concedes his weapons were returned to him with little fuss. But the lesson he’s learned from the flood has been stark: “I just don’t understand, in areas where there were no people left and the houses were all high and dry, why were they going through houses two and three times and doing all this damage to homes?” he asked. “All it says is that next time this happens, I’m not leaving my home. I have to protect my home from police, now, as well as looters.”

National Post

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