Dallas Homeowner Wants City To Pay For Police Damage To Fence
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DALLAS (CBS11) - Dallas resident Shirley Cooley said she is upset and frustrated after receiving a letter form the City of Dallas saying the city will not pay for damages to her backyard fence after a police chase ended on her property.
Dallas Police confirm a chase that started in another city back in February and involved multiple law enforcement agencies, ended in Cooley's Oak Cliff backyard.
Cooley said her fence was broken in several places as officers tried to take a suspect into custody.
She said police on scene told her the City of Dallas would pay for it.
"I was happy they got him but just don't leave me like this, you know," said Cooley.
Cooley runs a daycare out of the house and uses the backyard for recess space.
She said she had no choice but to hire a friend to fix the fence for $400, hoping to be reimbursed at a later time.
"I really didn't have the money to do this," said Cooley.
Cooley recently received a letter from the City of Dallas Risk Management department saying under the Texas Tort Act, the city is not responsible for the fix because it was determined that the damage was not caused by the negligent use of a city-owned vehicle or piece of equipment.
Dallas attorney Pete Schulte said at this point Cooley doesn't have much recourse.
"In this particular case you've got to figure out who caused the damage to the fence," said Schulte. "Did the suspect run through the fence and the police just followed or did the police damage it and they did it negligently?"
Cooley said she may now take the issue up in a smalls claims court.