In a decision that leaves many unanswered questions regarding the rights of citizens caught in police operations, the U.S. Supreme Court has chosen not to hear the case of Vicki Baker, a McKinney, Texas, resident whose home was decimated by a SWAT team in July 2020.
As described by the Reason article, Baker’s home became a battleground when police, in pursuit of fugitive Wesley Little who had taken a teenage girl hostage, employed extreme measures to extract him; they threw tear gas grenades, destroyed the doors with explosives, and drove a tank through the backyard fence, even though Baker's daughter had provided a key and access codes to the property.
Following the incident, Baker was left with over $50,000 in damages which neither the government nor her insurance company would cover, leaving her to face financial ruin as she was preparing to retire, a circumstance highlighted in an interview with Baker, per Reason.
Although a federal jury awarded her nearly $60,000 in damages in June 2022, a later decision by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned this ruling, referencing a "necessity" exception to the Takings Clause of the 5th Amendment, a point not without legal precedence but somewhat murky in applicability in such a context as Baker's; with Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch commenting on the denial from the Supreme Court, expressing the complexity and importance of how the Takings Clause applies in situations where the government is acting under its police power, according to a Reason report.
Baker's plight and her continued search for justice, which now moves under the Texas Constitution, is not isolated; similar incidents include the damage done to Carlos Pena's California printing business and Amy Hadley's Indiana home, as recounted by Reason, both cases involved police actions where property was severely damaged with no compensation for the non-suspect property owners.
The Institute for Justice, a nonprofit law firm, continues to offer legal aid to Baker, vowing to fight under the Texas Constitution, as reported by WFAA. Meanwhile, a GoFundMe campaign has been established in support of Baker, offering a channel for public donations during her ongoing battle for reparation.
