This spring, a Scottsdale, Arizona, man heard two pops and a loud “clink.” When he looked at the left side of his Lexus SUV, he found a gnarly hole in the lower door frame. It turns out a local police officer had fired a bullet in pursuit of a suspect who initiated a shootout. The stray bullet went right through Mark Mendel’s car.

Fox10 Pheonix shared Mendel’s story and his challenges following the incident. Mendel says that after obliging the city’s process for filing a compensation claim, he’s been denied. Now, he’s left with a $12,000 repair bill.

12 grand seems a bit high for a golf ball-sized hole in the left rear door panel, but the visible exterior damage is only the start. The police officer’s bullet went through the car’s frame, too. When Mendel opens both left doors, you can see that the bullet carved into the SUV’s unibody. He can even take a dowel rod and slide it all the way through, from the left rear door to the left front door frame, not far from the driver’s feet.

In the denial letter, the city’s risk management claims adjuster insists that “the proximate cause of your vehicle damage was the person firing at the police first, thereby necessitating the police response.” The adjuster concluded that statement with, “We must therefore, respectfully deny your claim.”

Mendel says he’s grateful to have police present in the community and glad he escaped the incident uninjured. Still, he feels slighted by the city’s denial. He went through the city’s claim process without legal representation. “I don’t feel it’s right. I mean, a police officer shot my car, you know? So. Yeah, I think it’s their responsibility,” he told Fox10. He also intends to formally oppose the city’s letter.

MotorBiscuit has already reported on the topic and found that, in general, first responders and the associated city tend not to take responsibility for property damage related to incidents they’re attending to. 

While researching, I found a 2008 report cited multiple times (up to 2022) that provided a concerning statistic: according to data from the New York Police Department, police officers have about an 18% “hit rate” when they’re engaged in a firearm fight. As such, despite the $12K bill, Mendel and anyone else in the area really were “fortunate” to avoid worse.