Posted on 09/12/2009 11:56:59 AM PDT by Chet 99
BUTLER COUNTY, Pa. -- Police in Butler County fatally shot a man after a standoff on Wednesday night.
But before the shooting, officers fired tear gas into the wrong house.
Channel 4 Action News' Paul Van Osdol reported that when he went inside the home that was mistakenly tear-gassed, even 24 hours later, his eyes started burning.
State police mistakenly fired tear gas into a house on Bredin Street, across from the home actually involved in the standoff.
"They've blown a hole, two holes in our front window. One shot actually came through our house the whole way and struck our back window in the dining room. And there's glass shattered from the living room through the dining room. And the whole house is just pungent with the odor of the pepper spray or the gas, whatever they used," said homeowner John Spinetti. "It's burning your eyes, it burns your throat."
Damage to the house is so severe it's going to take four days for professional cleaners to clean it up.
"There's a fine film on everything. I mean, you can see it on our furniture, you can see the stains on the curtains. And on this back window specifically you can see where the shell hit," Spinetti said.
Spinetti said state police have promised him they will cover any costs of the cleanup that are not being covered by his insurance company.
Van Osdol tried to speak to state police in Butler County, but they were not available for comment.
Police shot and killed Keith George Tack, 48, after a standoff that lasted for hours on Wednesday.
Authorities evacuated residents in a one-block radius of Bredin Street near Federal Street for hours. Police also blocked off streets surrounding the area, leaving dozens of neighbors to stand behind police tape, waiting and wondering what was happening.
Three state troopers who fired on Tack have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure in situations like this.
I believe the guy has himself a brand new house...compliments of the cops. The city or county is likely already shaking in their boots over this expenditure.
Forget about the cleaners getting all of this out.
Was Joe Biden in charge? (I don’t know what this has to do, but it sounded good)
oops, X 2.
WRONG - This is not the homeowner's or insurance company's mess to clean up. The state police need to clean it up and then compensate the man for the trouble.....red
His insurance? Why aren’t they paying for all of it?
His premiums may go up for making the claim in the first place.
Spinetti said state police have promised him they will cover any costs of the cleanup that are not being covered by his insurance company.
Why does the innocent person have to make a claim to his insurance company?
The police f’d up they should cover the entire thing and hope that the family does not sue, well maybe the family should sue.
I wonder if that kind of accident would have cost me my life.
I have the modern Army gas mask and Gore-Tex NBC gear, if I had reacted and went for my gear and guns first until I found out what was going on instead of running outside in my underwear, I wonder if I would have been “put down”.
I would not assume that. This is government—protected by sovereign immunity. They may or may not have liability. My suspicion is that they don’t and that they really are going to compensate him to the extent his insurance doesn’t cover it. Probably don’t even have a legal obligation to do that.
Something’s not right here.
No dogs were shot..
Thats the problem with government if what you say is true! No accountability. But the gooberment is the first entity to try and hold citizens accountable for... well everything.
Thats the problem with government if what you say is true! No accountability. But the gooberment is the first entity to try and hold citizens accountable for... well everything.
WTF? Are they going to pay his deductible or is out of pocket for the goonsquad f'up?
Well yes, they did tear gas the wrong house but it’s the thought that counts and if tear gassing the house across the street helped, isn’t it worth it?
Not enough. They need to cover all costs. Cleaning, repair, replacement and all costs of their having to live somewhere else while this is being done. And I would say at least another ten thousand for their trouble.
Hey, we can’t expect the cops to be competent. After all, they’re unionized government employees. Competency is not a requirement for keeping their jobs.
On the bright side, at least they didn’t shoot the wrong guy this time. Or his dog (if he has one).
Why the heck should the home owner's insurance company cover any of it?
I would say "Fine, my insurance doesn't cover it. Here's the bill which includes expenses for our inconvenience too. You have one week to cut me a check or we go to court and seek all of that plus compensation for pain and suffering."
Assuming, of course, that the dead guy across the street was the right guy. But then, he must be or he would have said something by now.
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