Did you miss the part where they were trespassing on his property because some NIMBY was bitching about his lawn?
Or is it ok to call SWAT on your neighbors if you don't like the topiary?
SWAT only showed up after he started firing on the crew.
That's ridiculous. SWAT was called because he was shooting at people from inside his house. If he wanted long weeds and brush in his yard, he should have bought a house with no HOA, and preferably no neighbors. But he bought in an HOA neighborhood, with all the rules and obligations that come with them. And they were not trespassing, they had a warrant.
I live in an area without HOA's. No one can tell me where I can park my boat and trailer, when to cut my lawn, or what color I can paint my house. With rare exceptions everyone keeps their yards neat anyway. If a neighbor has a problem and can't keep their yard up, I'll drop by with my mower and help out. It sounds like this guy was way beyond neighborly help. He was insane.
Last spring, my "citified" neighbors (with an empty lot) called Code Enforcement on me. "I had too much ivy growing against my house, and an enclosed automobile trailer didn't have a license plate". Threats of daily fines were texted to me.
So, with hired help, I pulled out all the ivy, got a rash, paid $300 for a prescription lotion, and got a tag for the trailer that had been there for 25 years without complaint.
These new complainants had inherited the lot, destroyed the house on it—tearing up MY fence in the process.
With much irony, the ivy had grown up the fence, over to my house, and I liked the shade it provided, didn't have to paint that side and it looked nice, anyway.
It had grown from the decedent's garden from THEIR property!