Close Enough for Police Work

Police in Butler County, Pennsylvania, killed a man after standoff in a residential neighborhood. But first, they accidentally fired tear gas into the home across the street. John Spinetti, the owner of the house, said police offered to pay for any damages not covered by his insurance.

Comments

[John C. Randolph]

police offered to pay for any damages not covered by his insurance

The insurance company should sue them for every penny they pay out. Vandalism isn't excused because the victim was insured.

-jcr

[Edwin]

In this day and age he's actually really lucky the police even offered to pay

I wouldn't be suprised if it was the officers who told the reporter this directly and later the actual department bureaucrats are going to rescind the offer

[Malvolio]

Vandalism isn't excused because the victim was insured.

It isn't vandalism at all if it's lawful (as this was) or if it was inadvertent (ditto). But yes, the city (or rather its taxpayers) should pay the whole nut and I'm sure the insurance company will try to collect.

[Patrick]

Cops are just people, folks, they are flawed and make mistakes. This sounds like that's what happened. Police should pay, no doubt, but I don't see this as abuse of anything by the police, just a mistake.

[TheOtherSomeGuy]

Cops are just people. They are flawed, and they do make mistakes.

The difference is that the cops are the death dealing arm of the government. That's why they wear guns on their hips. It's their job to kill you if you resist the government dictates too forcefully.

Ask Alberta Spruill about cops making "innocent, human mistakes"...

My innocent, human mistakes involve something like putting salt on some food instead of pepper, not pepper spraying 51 year old women, cuffing them, and causing them to die of a heart attack...