Six years ago, a McKinney SWAT team destroyed Vicki Baker's home, while attempting to apprehend a fugitive. She was innocent, and had no connection to the criminal. The city refused to compensate her.
Today, the Fifth Circuit held that the Texas Constitution requires that she be compensated.
This should not have taken six years. In 1980, the Texas Supreme Court held the government must compensate innocent people whose property is destroyed by law enforcement activity. The case remains good law and has been cited repeatedly by the Texas Supreme Court in recent years. Unfortunately, too many cities simply ignore the law. They know what the TX Constitution requires, but their position is that they don't have to follow it until someone sues them.
Public officials take an oath to uphold the TX Constitution. It shouldn't require six years of litigation and a court order to get them to follow it. But if that's what it takes, we're coming for you.