After Greenwood Village police destroyed his property when a gunman took shelter in the home last year, Leo Lech expected the city to compensate him.

“They came and they destroyed the house. It was condemned, it had to be torn down, and they offered me $5,000,” said Lech, who is suing the city in U.S. District Court in Denver.

That money was designed to meet specific expenses, said Tonya Haas Davidson, Greenwood Village city attorney. “That was to cover his out-of-pocket deductible and provide for some temporary housing,” she said. “That’s what happens to everybody that has insurance. If you have a fire in your home, the fire department that cuts a hole in your roof doesn’t pay for the damages it causes.”

Last June, police chased Robert Jonathan Seacat, who was suspected of shoplifting from a nearby Walmart, and he took shelter in the two-story home at 4219 S. Alton St. Lech rented the home to his son.

Seacat fired on officers and when negotiations failed, a SWAT team bombarded the home, tearing out walls and destroying property within.

Kathryn Scott, The Denver Post file In this 2015 file photo Leo Lech stands on a pile of wood in his neighbors yard overlooking the back of his house in Greenwood Village. Lech is suing the village after police severely damaged the house during an 19-hour-long standoff with a shoplifting suspect in 2015. The suspect had barricaded himself in the house at random and was armed.

Denver Post file The back side of Leo Lech's home can be seen over a fence from the neighbor's yard in this June 2015 file photo.

Kathryn Scott, The Denver Post file Wearing a protective mask, a member of law enforcement walks past the front door of Leo Lech's house in this June 2015 file photo.



Denver Post file Leo Lech stands on a pile of wood in his neighbors yard that overlooks the back of his home in this 2015 file photo.

Steve Nehf, The Denver Post A standoff between a shoplifting suspect and Greenwood Village police is into a second day with multiple law enforcement agencies and SWAT teams involved in this June 2015 file photo.

Steve Nehf, The Denver Post A standoff between a shoplifting suspect and Greenwood Village police is into a second day with multiple law enforcement agencies and SWAT teams involved in this June 2015 file photo.



Steve Nehf, The Denver Post A standoff between a shoplifting suspect and Greenwood Village police is into a second day with multiple law enforcement agencies and SWAT teams involved in this June 2015 file photo.

Steve Nehf, The Denver Post A standoff between a shoplifting suspect and Greenwood Village police is into a second day with multiple law enforcement agencies and SWAT teams involved in this 2015 file photo.

Related Articles June 10, 2015 Suspect in standoff at Greenwood Village home shot at cops, police say

Seacat held police at bay for 18 hours. When he was arrested, he possessed two loaded handguns, a shotgun and a backpack stuffed with baggies of methamphetamine, heroin and other drugs.

“Unbeknownst to law enforcement was the fact that Seacat was not only actively using methamphetamine, but he had also swallowed containers of the substance, which were now leaking into his system,” a review of the incident by the National Tactical Officers Association showed. Greenwood Village provided a copy of the review to The Denver Post.

“One can only speculate as to the effect this had on Seacat’s ability to think rationally, and to what degree the drug minimized the effects of any chemical munitions, which were later introduced,” the report said, indicating that chemical agents used by officers likely had little to no effect on Seacat.

Critics have panned the police response to the incident, saying there was no need to destroy the house.

The Tactical Officers Association, a non-profit that serves the law enforcement community, concluded the use of force was appropriate because Seacat refused to negotiate, fired twice at police and had access to multiple firearms.

The SWAT team used 40 millimeter rounds, explosives, chemical agents and flash-bang grenades, to flush Seacat out, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in Arapahoe County on June 24 and then moved to federal court.

“Commander (Dustin) Varney’s authorization to “take down as much of the building as needed, without making the roof fall in” was not given out of nonchalance or some perverted desire to destroy a home,” the Tactical Officers Association said.

“It was given in hopes of protecting the lives of personnel under his command, as well as the life of the suspect, Johnathan Seacat. In all probability, Commander Varney’s decision contributed substantially to that very result,” the report said.

But for Lech, the results were catastrophic.

“The interior of the Lech home was a mass of debris and destroyed belongings from the projectiles launched into the home,” the lawsuit said.

Market value of the home was $450,000, he said.

His son, fiancée, and her child, rented the house from him for $1,300 a month. “They were left with nothing at all, their personal belongings were destroyed,” he said.

To rent a comparable-sized home in Greenwood Village would cost them at least $2,000 a month, more than they can afford, Lech said.

To house them, Lech refinished the basement of his Douglas County home, he said.

He got a construction loan to rebuild the house and work is underway, Lech said.

He would have settled the lawsuit with the city of Greenwood Village for $600,000, he said.

“Why they don’t settle with me, I don’t know. For $600,000 I would be gone. What is this going to do to my insurance (rates)? If they think they were right in what they did, pay for what you did. You can’t simply throw people out in the street,” Lech said.

Seacat is scheduled for trial on Oct. 4.

“He is set for a jury trial on a multitude of charges,” Haas Davidson said. “He is a repeat offender and will be going away for a long, long time if convicted of any felony, so he has nothing to gain by trying to plead anything out.”