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Two Omaha residents file claims against the city after their home is damaged during a police standoff
OMAHA, Neb. —
The homeowner and renter of the home destroyed during a police standoff last week now face thousands in property damage. Law enforcement had to rip off the garage, damage a window, and tear down a back wall to arrest the suspect after he barricaded himself inside the home near 38th and Browne.
City of Omaha Attorney Matt Kuhse said under the state’s Political Subdivisions Tort Claim Act, the only thing you can do in a situation like this is file a claim over your damaged property.
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Both the homeowner and renter recently filed those claims; now they’re stuck waiting for a response.
“Pretty much everything in there that I own is destroyed,” Lashona Jones, the tenant renting the home, said.
Maj Jafari, the homeowner, said that to get the home livable again their estimating it will cost between 30,000 and 40,000. They both said the Omaha Police Department provided a phone number to file a claim with the city’s legal department.
“I submitted at least an initial thing to them. I got a response, and then they submitted it to the law worker for the city. And they have also responded. I don’t know what happens after that,” Jafari said.
They both already submitted claims to the city. Jones said she feels like the city is responsible and they should be helping her, and that she shouldn’t be left alone to do this by herself.
“We then try to work with the person to try and come to some sort of settlement. And if nothing works out after those six months, then a person is free to sue the city,” Kuhse said.
READ MORE: Standoff suspect held on bond, faces multiple charges after incident that injured Omaha police K-9
Kuhse said the process can take less than six months, but the city isn’t necessarily always liable for everything.
“There is a bit of self-starting that has to be done on the person’s part,” Kuhse said.
Previous coverage: Omaha police identify suspect in hours-long standoff that sent an OPD K-9 to a vet hospital
For now, the damages remain in the hands of the homeowner and renter.
“We can’t do anything with it at the moment, so it’s not a huge rush, but the longer it sits, the worse it gets,” Jafari said.
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