Governments Should Always Pay for Damaged Property

In Washington State, a homeowner is asking why the City of Renton is not willing to pay for extensive damages done to her home by a City SWAT team, on a search for her son who was not there.

From kirotv.com:

For more than four hours, SWAT team members fired grenades through walls and windows and blasted in the doors with explosives.

De La Torre came home from work while police were still there.

“(An officer) just kinda shook his head and said, ‘I am so sorry, ma’am. It’s your house and it’s…ruined; we destroyed it,’” she said. “Police officers and detectives that were there told me to file a claim with the city of Renton.

Clearly, MS De La Torre was not guilty of any crime.   The destruction of her home is, in effect a tax imposed on her without any due process.    If such destruction is necessary to enforce the rule of law, then the cost should be spread among the taxpayers that hire those who did the damage, as they all benefit from the rule of law and are the ones who could have mitigated the amount of damage done.


©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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