Police Abuse

Police Destroyed Innocent People's Property—and Left Them With the Bill. Will the Supreme Court Step In?

The Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause promises "just compensation" when private property is taken for public use. But some courts have ruled that it does not always apply when police are involved.

Billy Binion | 4.7.2026 5:17 PM

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Carlos Pena and Amy Hadley (Illustration: Institute for Justice)

2022 was a big year for both Carlos Pena and Amy Hadley. Separated by several states, SWAT teams left their properties in ruins while attempting to capture two suspects. In August, officers threw dozens of tear gas canisters into Pena's Los Angeles printing business; two months prior, law enforcement had done the same to Hadley's Indiana home before also destroying security cameras, punching holes in the walls, and ransacking the house.

Neither was suspected of a crime. They were, to put it mildly, unlucky. Which raises an unfortunate question: What is an innocent person owed when police wreck their property?

The Supreme Court will once again decide if it will address that question and offer legal clarity in a debate that has seen governments refuse to reimburse people when their property becomes major collateral damage in a law enforcement operation.

The circumstances leading up to Pena and Hadley's property damage differ slightly. A SWAT team........

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