Posted on 03/19/2014 10:47:10 AM PDT by fella
FORT WORTH — What started as a murder case ended as a standoff at a two-story home on Permian Lane in Fort Worth on December 31, 2013.
John St. Angelo, a contractor, had been here before, and chose it as a place to hide from Fort Worth police as they tried to track him down for the murder of his estranged wife, Suzanne Parsons.
Police used tear gas and more to break into the home until St. Angelo finally gave up.
All the owner of the house could do was watch.
"We’re about 12 hours ahead, so I found out on the first from my sister-in-law," said Russell Lamarre, who is currently working half a world away in the United Arab Emirates. "Then I went online and started watching the news."
His sister-in-law was house-sitting when his home became a crime scene, but that’s not the problem.
Three months later, Lamarre's property remains a boarded-up mess.
It’s more than broken windows and doors. In a video Lamarre posted on YouTube, we got an inside look at the damage — including hundreds of square feet of carpet that is still sitting soaked with tear gas.
Lamarre estimates the damage at more than $120,000. He immediately filed a claim with the City of Fort Worth Risk Management, asking that it help pay for repairs caused by SWAT team tactics. He learned more than a month later by letter that his claim was denied.
"I’m completely shocked by the way it was handled," Lamarre said.
A spokesman for the City of Fort Worth would not comment specifically on Lamarre’s case due to the potential of litigation, only saying that in this circumstance the city isn’t liable under provisions of the Texas Tort Claims Act.
Lamarre said he is disappointed, and is now looking outside of the city to clean up what he believes is its mess. He said homeowners insurance will likely pick up the initial costs for cleanup.
Then sue the officers involved.
Reminds me of Reagan's 9 most freighting words: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.
If the guy had no hostages, why was SWAT necessary? Why not just wait until he got hungry or tired or bored and gave up?
As to who will pay, file a claim with the homeowners insurance and let them send their lawyers after the city.
Suing officers, in practice, results in the taxpayers footing the bill.
Qualified immunity for he, not for thee.
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