A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the city of Greenwood Village, Colorado, owes a local man nothing after police destroyed his home in pursuit of an armed shoplifter.
Leo Lech, who rented the home to his son, said the 2015 police raid left his home looking like al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s compound after the raid that killed him, The Washington Post reported. Photos showed large gaping holes in the side of the house and walls that had been blown out by explosives.
An armed shoplifting suspect who fled from police at a nearby Walmart had randomly invaded the home and barricaded himself in a bathroom in June 2015. A 19-hour standoff resulted in the home being completely destroyed, costing Mr. Lech $400,000 in out-of-pocket expenses to rebuild, he told The Post.
“This has ruined our lives,” he said.
Greenwood Village responded to the incident by offering the Lech family $5,000 in temporary rental assistance and for the insurance deductible. On Tuesday, a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit unanimously ruled that the city owes the Lech family nothing further, saying it was acting within its “police power” when it damaged the home.
“It just goes to show that they can blow up your house, throw you out on the streets and say, ’See you later. Deal with it,’” Mr. Lech told The Post. “What happened to us should never happen in this country, ever.”
He said he is considering taking the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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