Klamath Falls, Ore. – A Klamath Falls man says a SWAT team caused more than $18,000 in damage to his rental apartment, but they won’t pay for damages.
Brittain McAuliffe is accused of shooting Danielle Griffin in the head, and leaving her for dead September 9th – sparking a manhunt.
“We had information that he was hiding in a location on Oak Street,” said Klamath Falls Police Chief David Henslee. “And we obtained a search warrant from Klamath County Circuit Court to go in and take him into custody.”
Property owner Wayne Huggins showed up to help. “I offered any way to help, here’s the keys, I drew them a floor plan of the unit.”
After a lengthy standoff, SWAT teams deployed tear gas.
“They spent 8 hours in this standoff,” said Huggins. “The bad guy wasn’t in there, and I have a destroyed apartment, and $18,000 worth of damage.”
“He was not inside, unfortunately,” acknowledged Chief Henslee. “We found him a few hours later hiding in another location.”
Huggins says the tear gas burned holes in the carpet, bedding, and couch, and even left an 8 year old boy’s teddy bear no longer huggable.
Huggins filed a claim with the city’s insurance. “I got this letter in the mail that says ‘your claim has been denied’, because the Klamath Falls Police Department were not negligent in this matter.”
“We’re not responsible for the damage,” said Chief Henslee. “Our priority when we have a search warrant like that is to make sure all the officer go home safe, and the suspect is safe.”
Brittain McAuliffe faces charges including attempted murder and first degree assault.
Danielle Griffin is continuing to recover from gunshot wounds to the head.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.