AUSTIN, Texas — A South Austin couple claims that a SWAT team mistakenly went into their home last month during a raid. Now they want the City of Austin to pay for the damages.
Body camera footage from the Aug. 6 encounter shows two Austin police officers conducting a welfare check at a home on Channel Island Drive in southeast Austin and receiving no answer. Officers kicked in the door, leading a man inside to approach the door with a gun and eventually start firing.
One of the officers took cover in a garage across the street, which is the house where Glen Shield and his wife live.
"We knew there was a gunfight right outside our house," Shield said.
By the time backup police arrived, the man with the gun had gone back into his house. However, officers instead came to Shield’s door.
"We were put in handcuffs, in a police car, [for] over two hours," Shield said.
Shield and his wife were detained, but that wasn't all.
"We were never told they were blowing up the door," Shield said.
He said the SWAT team blew open his door. Other damage included a bullet hole through the window and carpet damage.
"They destroyed our fence that was about $4,000 to $5,000," Shield said.
Shield filed a claim with the City to cover the cost of the damage, but the City denied it, sending him a response that said, "Texas state law provides immunity from liability for property damage to local governments that engage in law enforcement and public safety functions, such as the Austin Police Department carried out in this case."
Since then, the Institute for Justice has jumped in on Shield's behalf, writing a letter letter claiming that the City's rationale "is simply incorrect."
The letter asks the City to fairly compensate the Shields.
"We will go for the City again. I consider them fully responsible for the whole thing," Shield said.
Shield said he and his wife have not received a response from the City about the letter written by the Institute for Justice. He said they may have look at further action.
“I feel like it’s going to have to take litigation because the City does not seem inclined to do anything," Shield said.
KVUE reached out to the City of Austin and APD for comment. A City spokesperson directed KVUE to an APD spokesperson, who provided the following statement:
“The Austin Police Department is continuing its investigation into the Officer Involved Shooting that occurred on Channel Island Dr. Due to the ongoing investigation we are limited with the responses we can provide. However, we can say that when our agency is called out to a scene, the safety of our officers and community are our primary focus. We realize that those involved and our community have questions and we want to provide answers and understanding. Due to the ongoing investigation and the need to protect its integrity, we are not able to provide additional details beyond those publicly shared through the Critical Incident Briefing material.”