Carlos Pena had served the people of North Hollywood for thirty years, designing signs, banners, and clothes for grateful customers across the neighborhood.
But on August 3, 2022, his humble print shop was decimated by a bombardment of grenades that tore through his walls, windows and ceilings.
The father-of-two had been caught in the middle of a police pursuit of a dangerous fugitive, who had barricaded himself in Pena’s store.
Now, the unfortunate businessman has been left to shoulder the costs of $60,000 in repairs after insurers and the city refused to pay out.
And he is not alone.
Carlos Pena watched on in horror as his print shop in North Hollywood was destroyed by a bombardment of grenades thrown by a SWAT team in pursuit of a dangerous fugitive
Amy Hadley had her home in South Bend, Indiana, razed to the ground by police in a desperate search for a murder suspect who was never even there
As unlucky as he is, American property owners are being caught in the crossfire of destructive SWAT raids every couple of weeks, according to Pena’s attorney, Jeffrey Redfern.
Just months before Pena’s store was raided, Amy Hadley had her home in South Bend, Indiana, razed to the ground by police in a desperate search for a murder suspect who was never even there.
In August last year, Austin Police caused $23,000 of damage to the home of Glen and Mindy Shield, an innocent couple, after they busted the wrong property.
And Mollie Slaybaugh was left with $70,000 of repairs after a SWAT team assaulted her home with dozens of tear gas canisters during a manhunt.
Some of these properties should never have been raided.
In other cases, there has been a clear public interest in apprehending a dangerous criminal.
But in none is it right that the innocent bystanders should be left to pick up the tab.
Yet insurers say this is what is happening across America, because acts of government are not covered by their policies, while city authorities can claim immunity from damages.
All of that could change, however, if Vicki Baker wins a landmark case set to go to the Supreme Court in the Fall.
Baker’s $300,000 property was destroyed in July 2020 after a SWAT team stormed her house, launching tear-gas grenades through windows, knocking down doors and leveling a fence with an armored vehicle in pursuit of fugitive Wesley Little.
The 79-year-old had not been living at the house in McKinney, Texas, but had spent a year fixing it up for a sale.
She had even found a buyer, who unsurprisingly pulled out after the raid left the house in a mess.
Little killed himself in the master bedroom.
Vicki Baker’s $300,000 property was destroyed after a SWAT team launched tear-gas grenades at her house and leveled a fence with an armored vehicle in pursuit of a criminal
Baker, who lives in Lakeside, Montana, remembers one of her first conversations with a city official, who told her she ‘wouldn’t see a dime’ if she tried to claim compensation.
Those words were still ringing in her ears on June 22, 2022, when a federal jury ruled that she was entitled to $60,000 in damages.
It came after U.S. District Court Judge Amos Mazzant III rejected the city’s argument that police action should be exempt from the requirement that the government pay for property it destroys.
Redfern, an attorney for the Institute for Justice (IJ), described the decision as a ‘sea change in the law’.
‘Everyone agrees with the general proposition that the government has to pay for the property it takes,’ he said.
‘But courts across the country had held that this rule just did not apply to the police. But the police are part of the government, which this victory makes abundantly clear.’
Baker was able to win her case because Texas is one of only two states in the country, alongside Minnesota, that hold that this kind of damage is compensable.
Redfern said the fact that these states have had these rulings on their books for decades without them adding any discernible strain on municipal budgets shows that city’s can afford to pay out.
Having won Baker’s case at state level, it is now being fought out in federal courts, where a victory for the IJ could pave the way for similar relief for other unfortunate homeowners.
Grim pictures of Baker’s home following the raid in July 2020 shows bloodstained hallways
For now, however, hard-working citizens like Pena, most soldier on with their lives still in tatters.
Unable to afford the costly repairs, he has been forced to work out of his garage, causing a loss of revenue of more than $120,000.
He is in the process of selling his home.
Earlier this year, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled he was not entitled to compensation, a decision the IJ is appealing.
Pena recognizes that the police were doing their job, but can’t understand why he should have to suffer for it.
‘I’m not the guilty one,’ he adds. ‘I shouldn’t have to pay for it. It’s ridiculous. They [the insurers and the city] just wash their hands of it.
‘They practically destroyed me. Thirty years in the business and it just went down the drain.’