Who pays for property damage after a Glendale police standoff?
Does insurance cover police standoff damage?
Experts explain why standard insurance policies rarely cover home damage caused by law enforcement actions during a standoff. FOX 10's Megan Spector reports.
GLENDALE, Ariz. - A deadly police standoff in Glendale on Aug. 12 left a home heavily damaged, raising questions for the neighborhood about who will pay for the destruction.
The backstory:
Officers say 59-year-old Jeffery Peters barricaded himself inside a home near 75th and Glendale avenues, shooting repeatedly at police before he died.
The standoff on Wednesday left the home boarded up and fenced off, with bullet holes visible all over the front and side of the house.
Glendale standoff ends with suspect dead
A barricaded suspect is dead following a shootout with police officers in a Glendale neighborhood on Aug. 12. Glendale Police Sgt. Justin Ramsay gives the full recount of what happened.
What they're saying:
"Who's gonna pay for all this? That's my question. Who's gonna pay for all this?" one neighbor asked.
SkyFOX captured a SWAT vehicle with a battering ram crushing a brick wall to get to the house Wednesday and launching tear gas inside where Peters was located. Avondale Police identified the tactic as an isolation technique called "shrinking."
"We heard a lot of gunfire. We saw police officers running around trying to take cover. The tanks were coming in, and they started demolishing the house," another neighbor said.
New details in deadly Glendale standoff
New details have emerged regarding a police standoff in Glendale that left a suspect dead. FOX 10's Taylor Wirtz has the details, and the suspect's name.
What you can do:
A retired Phoenix Police commander says the homeowners' first call should be to their insurance agent.
"Let the insurance companies fight that one out but PD, when they're engaged in an active shooter with an armed suspect running around, all the responsibility falls on the person who started that – even though it looks like overkill from us – the fiscal responsibility would be on the person who started it, who is engaged in the gun battle, and who actually died. And so his family, his estate, is going to be – and this is just my non-lawyer view – the family is going to be responsible," retired Phoenix Police Commander Jeffeory Hynes said.
However, the Insurance Information Institute says standard homeowners and renters insurance policies do not cover property damage caused by a police SWAT raid.
After police used heavy vehicles and tear gas during a Glendale, Arizona standoff on Aug. 12, 2026, questions remain about who covers the property destruction.
"Most insurance contracts contain strict exclusions for governmental action, intentional public authority destruction, or law enforcement activities," Mark Friedlander with the Insurance Information Institute stated.
Friedlander adds that if law enforcement targeted the completely wrong address or acted with proven negligence, the homeowner may be able to get compensation from the local government.
What's next:
The daughter of the suspect was the one who called 911 and said he should not be there because of an active order of protection. FOX 10 is working to confirm who actually owns the home.
The Avondale Police Department has taken over the investigation.