Q: A cop took it upon himself to demolish my home and bragged to me he was going to do it on August 1 of this year when he
came out to my house and predicted he would do this, which he did two or three weeks ago after forcing me - and I meaning physically - into the psych ward of a hospital before commencing the demolition. I had no forewarning and everything is gone, and I mean everything. I want to sue this piece of work and the entire police force and the city, Windcrest, who carried this out. How do I do that?
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A:
I'm not sure you have all the facts straight. I mean no disrespect.
A police officer does not have the power or authority to demolish any house anywhere. A city may demolish a house inside its limits, but only after Due process.
I have seen towns and cities demolish houses wrongfully and illegally, so it does happen. Any municipality that wants to demolish a house must follow the Due Process requirements of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. The minimum requirements are NOTICE and and opportunity to be HEARD. Most cities will send you an initial Notice of an unsafe building, and then a Notice of a hearing where you can dispute the city findings or get a chance to fix any problems or dangers.
If you ignore the Notices or do not fix the dangers, the city must then send you a Notice that they will demolish or Abate the dangers, and again they are required to give you Notice, and a hearing. Only after all of that can the house be demolished or Razed. I would go down to the City Building department to see if there were any notices and then see a lawyer.
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