Cops Thought Innocent Man Shoplifted a Shirt, So 50 SWAT Cops Tore Down His House

Cops Thought Innocent Man Shoplifted a Shirt, So 50 SWAT Cops Tore Down His House

A team of SWAT officers destroyed an innocent man's house during a 19-hour standoff—for the sake of arresting a man who was accused of shoplifting clothes.

Greenwood Village, CO – An innocent man’s home was destroyed by police after 50 SWAT officers responded to reports of a man shoplifting a shirt and two belts from a store. Even though the city declared the man’s house a complete loss, he was given just $5,000 in compensation, and he is now filing a lawsuit for “just compensation.

Leo Lech lost his home in June 2015, after police launched a 19-hour standoff that included the use of armored vehicles, breaching rams, high-caliber rifles, chemical agents, flash-bang grenades and remote-controlled robots. While his home became “collateral damage,” neither Lech nor his family had any ties to the target the officers were pursuing.

It all started when a 30-year-old man was accused of shoplifting a shirt and two belts from a local Walmart. Police claim that when they approached Robert Jonathan Seacat, he fled the scene and officers followed him. After he drove to a nearby light rail stop, he abandoned the car he was driving and took shelter in a random house.

According to a report from the Denver Post, officers claimed that when they entered the home, “Seacat, who was on an upper floor, fired four or five shots through the floor at officers below.” Police decided to respond to one man barricaded in a home and armed with a handgun by employing 50 SWAT officers and a host of expensive technology, destroying the majority of the home, before they found their suspect in a bathroom and arrested him.

The National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) described the strategy used by the SWAT officers as “calculated destruction,” in which they launched explosives throughout the house, room-by-room, in order to isolate Seacat. A report from Reason described the standoff:

“Though accounts of Seacat’s weaponry differ, court documents provide a startling summary of the police arsenal: 50 SWAT officers bombarded Lech’s property with 40 mm rounds, tear gas, flashbang grenades, two armored Bearcats, and breaching rams. A total of ‘68 cold chemical munitions and four hot gas munitions’ were detonated inside the Greenwood Village home. 

Remote-controlled robots were also used during the raid. The first robot was deployed to track Seacat’s whereabouts inside the house and attempt to deliver a phone to Seacat so that he could directly communicate with police. However, the robot could not maneuver through the debris inside the home, and eventually got stuck. 

To retrieve the robot, an officer attempted to throw a flashbang grenade upstairs toward Seacat to create a diversion. However, the grenade bounced back downstairs toward the team of officers, forcing them to scatter and retreat. The official report states that the grenade ‘failed to land in its desired location.’ Eventually, a second robot was used to retrieve the first one.”

While one may wonder why Seacat continued to stay in the house, even after police spent several hours using extreme methods to get him out, a review from the NTOA reported by the Denver Post, claimed that, Seacat was not only actively using methamphetamine, but he had also swallowed containers of the substance, which were now leaking into his system.”

As a result of Seacat’s impaired state, the review concluded that the chemical agents used by the officers likely did not affect him, noting, “One can only speculate as to the effect this had on Seacat’s ability to think rationally, and to what degree the drug minimized the effects of any chemical munitions, which were later introduced.”

The amount of force and technology police used, in order to arrest a man who was suspected of shoplifting clothes from Walmart is bizarre, but the fact that they seemed intent on practically destroying an innocent man’s home is even worse.

According to the report from Reason, the commanding officer during the raid, Dustin Varney, instructed his team to “take as much of the building as needed, without making the roof fall,” and that is exactly what they did.

Image via The Denver Post

“They came and they destroyed the house. It was condemned, it had to be torn down, and they offered me $5,000,” Lech told the Denver Post, noting that his son’s family, who was renting the house from him, had all of their personal belongings destroyed, and were never compensated.

Although Lech’s house was declared “a complete loss” following the raid, the City of Greenwood Village offered him just $5,000 for temporary living arrangements. In response, he filed a federal lawsuit, claiming civil rights violations, and unjust compensation from the government. Lech told CBS Denver that he expects his case to be heard in federal court in January 2018.

Rachel Blevins is a Texas-based journalist who aspires to break the left/right paradigm in media and politics by pursuing truth and questioning existing narratives. Follow Rachel on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Views: 1565

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

Comment by DTOM on November 23, 2017 at 6:03am

He should file personal lawsuits against every member of the police involved.

Only when THEY start to pay for their criminal behavior from THEIR OWN POCKETS and not using the taxpayer's money will you see any change.

Comment by Less Prone on November 23, 2017 at 3:55am

Police officer after it all would say "Wow. We didn't get the shirt and the belt back, but at least it was fun!"

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

tjdavis posted a blog post
12 hours ago
Less Prone commented on tjdavis's blog post EST
"What possible motive did the Ashkenazi Jews have in exposing the original Jews into this…"
13 hours ago
Less Prone commented on tjdavis's blog post EST
"The war between Isreal and Palestinians is a war of the modern Ashkenazi Jews fighting against the…"
13 hours ago
Doc Vega commented on tjdavis's blog post EST
"Mark Levin is a good source of info on what's going on there."
13 hours ago
Doc Vega commented on tjdavis's blog post EST
"If you care to ascribe to the bullshit news media you will get the exact opposite details from the…"
13 hours ago
Doc Vega posted blog posts
15 hours ago
cheeki kea posted a blog post

Why is there Abnormal Physiology in the Vaccinated Heart?

Doctor McMillion has totally out done himself on this video. If he's on a roll here it'll be on top…See More
18 hours ago
cheeki kea posted photos
19 hours ago
cheeki kea commented on tjdavis's photo
20 hours ago
cheeki kea commented on Sandy's photo
Thumbnail

FB_IMG_1710523455761

"Ha Thia have you considered applying to move to Russia? Hourly rate the same but cost of living…"
yesterday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Saturday
tjdavis favorited MAC's video
Saturday
tjdavis favorited MAC's video
Saturday
Doc Vega's 5 blog posts were featured
Saturday
tjdavis's 3 blog posts were featured
Saturday
steve's blog post was featured

This must be understood THE ELITE WANT US DEAD our only way out is----------------------------

to realize this FACT, get mad dog mad and go on the offensive. Once again they mean to KILL us and…See More
Saturday
MAC posted videos
Saturday
tjdavis posted photos
Saturday
tjdavis posted videos
Saturday
Sandy posted a photo
Friday

© 2024   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted