SWAT destroys innocent man's home chasing a suspect, court rules he is owed nothing

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A federal appeals court says a Colorado town is not liable for damage after police destroyed an innocent man's home during a long siege to arrest a suspected shoplifter who had randomly taken refuge there.

The 19-hour standoff unfolded in Greenwood Village, Colorado, in 2015 after the suspected thief, Robert Jonathan Seacat, tried to escape police by by running into a houseowned by Leo Lech.

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After Seacat, who refused to surrender, fired on police, officers brought in a SWAT team that fired gas munition and 40-millimeter rounds through the windows, punched through doors with an armored vehicle and blew out walls with explosives and flash-bang grenades. Almost every window in the home was destroyed.

Seacat eventually was overpowered. He was convicted on 17 felony counts, but the home was rendered uninhabitable and had to be torn down and rebuilt.
 
The city of Greenwood Village said in a statement that it had offered to pay Lech $5,000 for temporary living expenses. It also said a review of the incident by the National Tactical Officers Association found that police "acted in a highly commendable manner."

Although the home, which his son was renting at the time, was appraised at $580,000, Lech's insurance paid only $345,000. Lech eventually took out a $600,000 mortgage and rebuilt the home over two years, according to the Denver Post.

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