Police did nothing wrong when blowing up innocent man's house in search for shoplifter, court rules

A 19-hour standoff left a Colorado man's home uninhabitable

A Colorado court has ruled that police were acting within the bounds of their duties when they left a local man’s home destroyed in pursuit of a shoplifter.

Robert Jonathan Seacat took shelter in the Denver area home owned by Leo Lech after shoplifting from a local Walmart in June 2015. Seacat was armed and fired at police after hiding in the home, starting a 19-hour standoff with Greenwood Village police that left the Lech home in ruins.

When negotiators failed to convince Seacat to surrender, a SWAT team used armored vehicles, tear gas, and explosives to try and flesh him out. The Denver Post reports that every window of Mr Lech’s home was torn out by the police, and that the house was left completely uninhabitable.

“This is one guy with a handgun,” Mr Lech told the Washington Post. “This guy was sleeping. This guy was eating. This guy was just hanging out in this house. I mean, they proceeded to blow up the entire house.”

The town of Greenwood Village refused to pay for the damage the police had done to the home in the process of making the arrest, offering only $5,000 to help Mr Lech's son and his family, who were living in the home at the time, rent a temporary residence.

Mr Lech says the damage has cost $400,000 to repair and that he had to dip into his 401k to pursue the lawsuit.

He filed a lawsuit against the town, but the courts have unanimously ruled that destroying his house does not fall under the protections of eminent domain. While the government would have to pay him to seize his property, they do not have to pay for destruction caused pursuit of enforcing the law.

Mr Lech has said that he is considering whether to appeal the decision to the US Supreme Court.