‘I couldn’t get a breath’: Windsor man allegedly bear sprayed by car break-in suspect

A Windsor family is still shaken after a pair of suspects allegedly smashed their way into one of their vehicles early Monday morning, using bear spray when confronted.

Connor Ryersee’s Jeep was parked outside the Hanna Street east home he shares with his partner and her father.

He said he was woken up around 5 a.m. to find it being ransacked by two guys dressed head to toe in black.

“I opened the window and shouted at him,” he said.

That shouting woke Ron Durocher, who told CTV News he followed the suspects on foot while his daughter called police.

Durocher said he found the pair in an alley. That’s when he said one sprayed him with bear spray.

“It was like I couldn’t get a breath. I was trying to get air in. I couldn’t breathe at all. I couldn’t chase them down the alley, I just yelled you better run,” said Durocher.

Ryersee said he arrived shortly after and wasn’t sure what had happened.

Connor Ryersee’s Jeep was parked outside the Hanna Street east in Windsor when it was broken into. (Travis Fortnum/CTV News Windsor)“I came across him wheezing and I thought, oh crap was he stabbed? Was he shot? He can’t breath,” he said.

The family told CTV News it wasn’t until about two hours later, around 7:30 a.m., that officers arrived.

In that time they said they walked through their neighbourhood to see 10 other vehicles broken into.

Ryersee said nothing was taken from his vehicle – but he’s extremely upset nonetheless.

He said he feels violated and is out the cost to repair the window.

“People will say oh it’s just a broken window, but it’s your hard-earned money, it’s your day it’s everything,” he said.

“I work six days a week to pay the bills and that hurts. That hurts a lot.”

Ryersee, his partner and Durocher are also upset police didn’t make it to the scene in time to find the suspects, as they did.

“What was the huge emergency that there was not one available cruiser at 5:30 this morning?” Durocher asked.

CTV News reached out to Windsor police about the incident.

“This is an ongoing investigation and I cannot comment any further at this time,” said police in an email.