An innocent lady’s home was destroyed by a SWAT Team after an escapee barricaded his way inside. The federal court last week decided that the woman can sue to recover damages.
In July 2020, Wesley Little—who Vicki Baker had terminated as her handyman about a year and a half prior—arrived at Baker’s home in McKinney, Texas. Baker’s child answered. She recognized Baker’s face from the news stories that he was being sought for abducting a girl of 15 years old.
The SWAT team arrived quickly. They detonated tear gas and bombs inside Baker’s garage and ran up Baker’s fence in an armored car. Then they tore down Baker’s front door. The house It was impossible to live with them after their departure.
She filed suit. Therefore, the city sought to have the suit dismissed by the court.
“In its pursuit of the fugitive and pursuant to its police powers, Baker alleges the City caused significant economic damage—over $50,000—to her home. “The City then refused to pay her compensation for the damage,” wrote Judge Amos L. Mazzant III of U.S District Court Eastern District of Texas. “Baker has alleged damage to her private property—and the City’s refusal to compensate for such damage—that plausibly amounts to a Fifth Amendment violation.”
This is an indication of how hard it has been to obtain meaningful accountability from government. Baker’s case centers around the Takings Clause in the 5th Amendment. This clause is meant to allow recourse for those whose property was taken or destroyed. This protection was weakened by several court cases that created carveouts to allow actions under broad “police powers” for those who have had their property taken or destroyed.
Jeffrey Redfern, an attorney at the Institute for Justice (a public interest law firm that represents Baker), told me this March: “They’re making unlucky people shoulder the burden to do something good for society.” “Take dangerous criminals off of the streets Is Good for society. The city might decide that your house is really needed and build a road. This might be what the community needs. It doesn’t make sense to have one person pay for something good for the community.
SWAT squads can burn innocent homes to pursue fugitives, or to verify that they were at the correct address. This isn’t unusual. After SWAT officers allegedly retaliated for shoplifting, a Colorado family tried to sue. The Supreme Court denied the case. And a group of more than two dozen police officers received qualified immunity after throwing explosives into the wrong man’s home during a drug raid—meaning the 78-year-old victim, Onree Norris, could not sue them.
Baker may still need to win an appeal from the city. If her suit is granted a better fate, Baker may be able to recover some of the financial expenses she incurred while she fights stage three cancer. But some items cannot be replaced. For example, tear gas damaged an antique doll collection. Her daughter’s blind dog became deafened and blind, worse still.
Baker said, “I have lost everything.” There are reasons last March. I’m losing my opportunity to sell my home. “I’m afraid of what I will do when I retire. I have lost the chance to sell my house. Make my regular payments.”