The suspect in Colorado barricaded himself in a stranger’s suburban home in June 2015 only for police to blow up the walls with explosives, fire tear gas and drive a military-style armoured vehicle through the property’s doors.

After a 19-hour standoff, the home was left with shredded walls and blown-out windows. In some parts of the interior, the wood framing was exposed amid a mountain of debris.

A federal appeals court in Denver has now ruled that the homeowner, who had no connection to the suspect, isn’t entitled to be compensated because the police were acting to preserve the safety of the public.

“Under no circumstances in this country should the government be able to blow up your house and render a family homeless,” Leo Lech, the house’s owner, told NPR. “This family was thrown out into the street without any recourse.”

Lawyers for Lech argued that the police’s destruction of his home was a violation of the Constitution’s Takings Clause, which says private property cannot be taken for public use without “just compensation.” But the problem with that argument, the appeals court ruled, is that courts have long held that police cannot be on the hook for property damage caused in the process of trying to make an arrest.

Authorities say the suspect stole two belts and a shirt from a Walmart. After he left the store, police say, he broke into Lech’s house for protection and was firing at officers with a handgun. Eventually, SWAT officers entered the home and apprehended him.