A young mother says she fears for her safety after Police raided her home at the weekend, leaving behind a broken door which cannot be locked.

Charlita Campbell said Police broke through her door shortly after 6 a.m. on Saturday morning with a warrant under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Mrs. Campbell said she awoke to a loud cracking noise and more than a dozen officers flooding into her small Curving Avenue apartment.

“They all rushed in and were searching for drugs,” she said. “They didn't find anything but they were searching my daughter's room.

“She was in her crib and they had the (sniffer) dog all up in her face. She doesn't like noise anyway and she was crying and terrified.”

The 26-year-old mother said she and her husband were in another room with her three-year-old son when Police burst through the door yelling and demanding to know where the drugs were.

“By the time I sat up they were right in my face,” she said.

And she claims officers would not let her pick up her baby for roughly 15 minutes although the one-year-old girl lay in the crib terrified and shrieking.

“The dog was right up over her. It could have bitten her or something,” said Mrs. Campbell.

“I understand they had a tip that maybe drugs were here but they didn't find anything and they didn't even knock.”

She said neighbours saw the Police storm her house and told her they were wielding a big, black door breaking instrument.

“I would have heard them if they knocked,” she said. “I always sleep with the bedroom doors open. These walls are very thin. You can hear everything here. I can hear people down on the street.”

Meanwhile, she said, another door to the apartment was unlocked at the time. “If they had even tried the door (with the apartment number on it) they could have walked right in without damaging anything.”

Mrs. Campbell said officers have since taken away her husband, Michael Anthony Campbell, and now she is left alone with two infants and a broken door.

“I don't feel at all safe,” she said. “There are a lot of drug-heads in this area and a lot of people coming and going. I can't sleep.

“When I leave the house I have to ask people to guard my door. I shouldn't be going through this.”

Mrs. Campbell told The Royal Gazette she tried to contact Police all weekend about getting her door fixed but felt like she was being given the run-around.

“They kept passing me from person to person. I don't have a phone and I have to go to the phonebox down the street every time and leave my home unattended,” she said.

Eventually, Mrs. Campbell said she was told she had to get the door fixed herself and then send the bill to the Police Commissioner.

“I don't have any money to get the door fixed,” she said. “Doors cost a lot of money. Where am I going to find the money?

Yesterday, Police said Mrs. Campbell's husband had been arrested for a narcotics related offence and was also the subject of an Immigration Department investigation. Police could not comment on specifics of the case, however, a spokesman said the service does have a standard procedure for damages caused during investigations.

“Common practice, in most cases where damage is done, is that the Bermuda Police Service asks that the party provide an estimate of the damages to the Commissioner in writing or via a phone call,” the spokesman said.

“We will get it fixed or they can get it fixed and submit a bill to us and be reimbursed.”

But Mrs. Campbell said she cannot rest while the door remains in such a vulnerable state and she is afraid to go to her job and leave her home unattended.

“I just really want my door fixed so my children and I will be safe,” she said.