McKINNEY – Last summer, a fugitive took refuge in a McKinney home owned by Vicki Baker. When the city’s SWAT team arrived, they launched a “shock and awe” campaign, using gas grenades, explosives and an armored vehicle to utterly destroy the home.
Last month, Baker filed suit against the city of McKinney, alleging the city refused to compensate her for the damage caused to her home – a requirement under both the U.S. and Texas Constitutions.
On April 14, the city filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that there is a lack of subject matter and that Baker failed to state a claim that can grant relief, court records show.
“The Complaint fails to invoke federal jurisdiction…,” the motion states. “The Complaint also fails to state a claim for which relief can be granted … fails to assert a constitutional claim, and improperly attempts to circumvent well established state sovereign immunity.
“For Baker’s failure to plead facts sufficient to invoke federal jurisdiction or state a claim for which relief can be granted, the Complaint should be dismissed.”
According to the complaint, Baker lived in the home until she moved to Montana for her retirement in 2020. Last July, her daughter was preparing the home to sell when the fugitive showed up with a 15-yeard old girl. Fearing he was armed, she let them in and called the police.
The McKinney police then proceeded to the house and surrounded it. A stand off ensued. After a few hours, the teenaged girl left the house unharmed, but the fugitive refused to leave.
“Eventually, the McKinney police decided to storm the house, using highly destructive tactics,” the suit states. “They knocked down the backyard fence with a BearCat (essentially a tank). They fired approximately 30 tear gas canisters through the windows of the house. They knocked down the front door and the garage door.
“Inside the house, they found that (the fugitive) had taken his own life.”
Brown asserts the damage to the home was extensive. Every window needed to be replaced and a HAZMAT team needed to clean the house because of the tear gas. The damage totaled at least $50,000, which was excluded from insurance coverage because it was caused by the government.
Furthermore, the house had been under contract to be sold, but after the destruction the buyer terminated the agreement.
The Institute for Justice represents Brown. IJ has linked information about the case on its website.
“In America, ‘if you break it, you buy it,’” said IJ Attorney Jeff Redfern on the site. “The McKinney SWAT team didn’t just break Vicki’s home—they destroyed it. Now it is time for them to pay for the damage they caused.”
The city is represented by Edwin Voss Jr. and Michael Martin, attorneys for the Richardson law firm of Brown & Hofmeister.
Filed in the Eastern District of Texas, case No. 4:21-cv-00176