Robert Jonathan Seacat, had stolen a shirt and a couple of belts from a Walmart in neighboring Aurora. …A police officer pursued him in a high-speed chase until Seacat parked his car. …He climbed the fence on the other side — and then, shortly thereafter, came upon the Lech residence.

A 9-year-old boy, John Lech’s girlfriend’s son, was home alone at the time. …“He said, ‘I don’t want to hurt anybody. I just want to get away,’ ” Lech said. Minutes later, the boy walked out of the house unharmed.

…Police had pulled into the driveway. Seacat fired a shot at them through the garage.

…Thus began the 19-hour standoff.

“They proceed to destroy the house — room by room, by room, by room,” Lech said. “This is one guy with a handgun. 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 victim’s] expenses to rebuild the house and replace all its contents cost him nearly $400,000, he said. While insurance did cover structural damage initially, his son did not have renter’s insurance and so insurance did not cover replacement of the home’s contents, and he says he is still in debt today from loans he took out.

…On Tuesday, a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit unanimously ruled that the city is not required to compensate the Lech family for their lost home because it was destroyed by police while they were trying to enforce the law, rather than taken by eminent domain.

…The court said that Greenwood Village was acting within its “police power” when it damaged the house, which the court said doesn’t qualify as a “taking” under the Fifth Amendment. The court acknowledged that this may seem “unfair,” but when police have to protect the public, they can’t be “burdened with the condition” that they compensate whomever is damaged by their actions along the way.

…Police must be forced to draw the line at some point, [the victim] said — preferably before a house is gutted — and be held accountable if innocent bystanders lose everything as a result of the actions of law enforcement.

…“This can’t go on in this country,” he said. “There has to be a limit. There has to be accountability.”

Leo Lech not entitled to money after police blew up his Colorado home, court rules – The Washington Post

Over a shirt and some belts from WalMart???! That’s beyond unnecessary escalation all the way to egregiously irresponsible to start with and then the city refuses to pay more than $5000? Criminal.