Cops destroy house trying to get a shoplifter
 

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A man whose Greenwood Village home was destroyed by police in a barricade situation is angry, claiming police used excessive force to get the job done.

"My house has been destroyed by a para-military unit," owner Leo Lech said Friday. "We'll have to basically doze it down to the foundation."

The home, at 4219 S. Alton St., has been condemned, Lech said.

Lech also fears that he'll be left alone to deal with the damage and aftermath.

His nightmare began Wednesday when Lech's 25-year-old son, who lives in the home and rents from his father, called and told him police had cordoned off the property and he couldn't get in.

On Thursday morning his son called back.

"He said: 'The house is totaled!' " Lech recalled.

"I thought, they broke down the door, or fired tear gas through a window," Lech said. "When he showed me the pictures I was just aghast ? unbelievable!"

The bi-level home, built in 1974 and purchased by Lech a couple of years ago, now looks like it's in the middle of a battle zone.

Windows, both front and back, were obliterated, blown out to the point of exposing the wooden frame of the house. Piles of wasted timber, wood framing, siding, exterior trim and decking, are dotted around the house.

Portions of the landscape are torn up, looking like a tank or heavy equipment rumbled through.

Most of the damage to the home was caused by "some kind of explosive," Lech said. "I can tell you that for sure."

Scanner traffic during the incident also indicated authorities were using explosives at the house.

Greenwood Village police did not return calls Friday for comment and have not explained how they damaged the house or why they used so much force. Neighbors described sounds of gunfire and explosions when the stand off came to an end.

On Thursday, Lech called police, he said, but never got a return call until Friday morning, after he went to the home, where some officers were assigned, and Lech "made a scene."

Lech said Police Chief John Jackson told him: " 'Well, we did what we had to do.' "

"One suspect with a hand gun and they have to use this kind of force?" Lech said.

The incident started Wednesday when Aurora police responded to a report of shoplifting at a Walmart, 9400 E. Hampden Ave., and the suspect was fleeing in a vehicle.

The shoplifting suspect drove to a light rail station, where he ditched the car and took off on foot, police said.

He randomly picked Lech's home to hide in. A 9-year-old boy, escaped the home unharmed.

Power and water to the home, and neighboring homes, was shut off as police tried to coax the shoplifter out.

Members of the Greenwood Village Police Department, the Aurora Police Department and the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Department surrounded the home. After several hours, a Greenwood Village police team entered the home and were fired upon by the armed man, police said.

At about 8:50 a.m. Thursday "officers and deputies entered the home again and safely removed the suspect," Greenwood Village police said in a media release.

The suspect, who has been arrested, was identified as 33-year-old Robert Jonathon Seacat. No one was injured in the incident.

Owner: Standoff house in Greenwood Village is "destroyed" - The Denver Post


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must be nice to live in a police state.

That is amazing

the guy should get millions and all the cops fired. this is mental.

The worse part about it is most homeowners insurance policies have a clause that states 'damage caused by "government agencies" may void coverage'.

Cops need to blow a bit of steam ...

And anyway, the owner of the house and his son probably deserved it ... and if not yet, they could have in the future ...

:2 cents:

That house should not have resisted.

Police dindo bluffings...

Shoplifters are dangerous perps..

"a Greenwood Village police team entered the home and were fired upon by the armed man"

If you think resisting arrest pisses off the cops, start shooting at them"

What's the point of funding all those cool para-military police toys - if they don't get to blow the dust off and try'em out once in awhile?

"Hey, Sarge...we got a report of a perp with a gun...holed up in a shithole house. Please, please...can we try a little C4...pretty please?"

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He stole 2 belts and a shirt.

He made a scene....lol
typical bullshut scumbag behaviour

Well ...... I think the dumb-asses opening fire on the cops actually had more to do with the house getting destroyed than shoplifting don't you?

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Must not have been an black people around for the pigs to abuse/frame/murder.

So lets see... the reasoning of GFY'ers is so deficient, that no one raises an eyebrow at the fact that SWAT was called for "a shoplifter".

So it takes literally 2 seconds to find out that he barricaded himself in the home for 2 days and was shooting at police... hence the SWAT response.... and 2 days of them trying to get him to surrender (such horrible police, trying to save his life!)

As usual, a great deal more to the story than those with an agenda can even be bothered to look into. As long as the headline supports the agenda.. thats good enough.

Black runs away po po, he deaded
White guy shoot da police, he alive

If every black man who tried to run away from police was "deaded" we would be looking at much lower crime rates and prison population. Unfortunately this is not the case.

It was 20 hours, not 2 days. And lets just gloss over the fact they chased this guy all over town over a few stolen belts from Walmart.

Odd that not one comment on the articles news site agrees with your extreme fascist point of view, they all must be GFY'ers. :1orglaugh

Great. The cut-off now for being a thief is how much? I've gotten pretty damn tired of waiting in line to pay for small shit.


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What is the definition of a fascist? Something's not right here

Yea, high speed chases make perfect sense every time someone steals a candy bar at 7-11.

Extreme right wing; police state.

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

"The suspect has an 8 page rap sheet in Colorado, which includes arrests for aggravated motor vehicle theft, dangerous drug distribution, burglary, theft, forgery and harassment"


Shoplifting suspect in Greenwood Village in custody after SWAT rams into home to end nearly 20-hour standoff - 7NEWS Denver TheDenverChannel.com

Note to self.

Make sure house is fully secure so scum criminals dont hold up there and void my insurance when cops blow it to shit

Robert Jonathon Seacat.

Hahahahaahahahah


Hes related to dog the bounty hunter?

you mean they chased a career criminal and dangerous felon who shot at cops all over town? Seems like they did the right thing in trying to get this guy off the street and treating him like the dangerous threat that he proved to be. I can't speak to the damage of the house, because I don't know the full facts. On the surface, it appears excessive. If they believed there was a high probability of their being 1 or more hostages, not so much.

Every time i see a headline like this, its always a 100% safe bet that everyone is willfully ignoring the facts which don't support their agenda. "Cops = bad", fine. But at least be honest about the full facts of what happened and the full weight of what they were facing and the decisions that had to be made in light of the facts.

Cops destroy house trying to get a guy that shot at them.

An armed suspect barricades himself in a house and.... I guess at that point the cop should just walk away.

Which is really the story here - "Police destroy house for no reason" or "police arrest armed suspect who committed a crime and then evaded police".

WOW everyone hates the police, till they need the police. It's a shame with all the keyboard warriors out here all the wanna be tough acting boys I mean. I can bet 98% of you that say you hate police, that if someone was raping your mother at gun point and you couldn't get to her to save her you would call wouldn't you?? smh

TOM

It's fine they had to do that to get him. But they should have to pay for it. Instead of using seized funds to purchase new assault rifles or armored vehicles they should have funds set aside to help pay for rare instances like this.

I just hope the home owner gets a 100% compensation for his wrecked house.

The homeowner's insurance should cover it. The tenant should have had renters insurance, tough luck for his personal stuff.

(Renters ins is almost free and covers fire, theft and electronic/laptops if stolen from your car. Auto insurance doesn't)

I would rather have a big check to rebuild an aging rental home than the alternative .... Which very well could have been having someone shot dead in the house. Try renting it then or selling it.


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op, how should the police have handled this sitch?

As a landlord of average rent dwellings, I can tell you that you that most tenants do not have home insurance ( unlike car which is mandatory ) .

I would not be surprised if my own insurance does not cover these kind of situation . One thing for sure, the insurance first words out of their mouth, for any situation, are : we do not cover this ....

They have 2 jobs : collect premium, deny coverage :2 cents:

Sounds reasonable :1orglaugh

Most renters can have decent coverage for $100-$150 a year. Not only for their personal items but incase they are sued by the landlord or his insurance incase of a fire or something stupid they do that causes major damage. Plus their auto ins does not cover items stolen from a car, cell/laptop only their renters insurance does.

Yep, its the renters fault for not having insurance, and the cops did the homeowner a favor. :1orglaugh




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WTF are you talking about?


I made a general statement that any renter not spending $100 a year to protect all his shit is an idiot. That's a fact.

Police apologist, or someone not blinded by their own agenda? Why are you a "low-life" apologist?


And nice thread with a typically incorrect misleading headline :1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh


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Is this the cliff notes? Now, it makes sense..:2 cents:

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Nice cut and paste comp. What are you 18, 19?

How about a truce. Here, I'll even offer you a gift....



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dood that's impossible! you see the size of that place? you can sue the department. the actual damage plus punitive damages. :2 cents::2 cents: