[hinckley buzzard]

The problem with your argument is that there is no reason to destroy a house just because a suspect is holed up in it. Every day, police all over the country face these scenarios, and I have never heard of a single one being shelled and rocketed just to get to a shoplifter of all things. They negotiate with them, they wait them out; if they do have to go in, they go in with a SWAT team, not the field artillery.

You completely fail your own “reasonableness” test.

[TexasGator]

“just to get to a shoplifter of all things”

High on meth, several counts of attempted murder and attempted car theft ...

[mumblypeg]

You’re correct.
Destroying the building to get at the bad guy isn’t standard protocol by any means.
One case many years ago, a fired employee (can’t remember his name) went back & shot several coworkers & many others were hiding thruout the multi story building. Cops weren’t sure where everyone was.
They didnt blow up the building.
They got the guy to surrender by wearing him out with phone calls & then offering him a sandwich.
One cop commented, “The asshole brought an arsenal, but he forgot to bring lunch.”