Get Marty: Woman Promised Compensation After Home Trashed By State Police
IRWIN (KDKA) – Police took over a local woman's home while dealing with a standoff down the street.
But when they left, they also left behind some damage.
They promised to pay for it, but after months of waiting and not so much as a dime, she decided to Get Marty.
The standoff was dramatic with tactical vehicles, snipers and SWAT officers. Tear gas was also fired into the Irwin apartment.
Negotiators tried to talk the dangerous man out safely.
State Police got their man: wanted fugitive Charles Coddle.
Patti Olsavicky was left with a mess on her hands.
"He said, 'Get out of your house, we have a hostage situation,'" said Olsavicky.
The officers crawled onto her roof and went through her home to get there.
"There used to be a shelf here," she described, "they ripped it off, broke it off."
Heavily armed police rushed up Patti's stairs.
"They bused his door," she said.
Officers made their way into her son's room, had to get out on the roof and grabbed the air conditioner.
"They pulled it out, threw it on the floor and shattered it," she said.
They also busted a curtain rod. Olsavicky's son has autism and they also broke his beloved stereo speakers.
"They smashed his speakers, his stereo doesn't work now," she said.
There was also another broken door.
It took seven hours for police to get their man, but all Olsavicky says she got was a big dose of frustration.
"You throw me out of the house, then you tell me you will replace the damage that you have caused," she said. "I call, you tell me to call Harrisburg. I call Harrisburg, I call them, they say someone will call you back. It's been since March 27. I haven't heard anything."
Nearly four months after police blew through her apartment, banging around and breaking things on the way, there's been no word about paying for damage. That's why she called Marty.
Marty reached out to one of the men involved in the operation. Within hours State Tpr. Steve Limani responded, saying "I brought this particular incident to my boss. He empathizes with Patti and sent me to her home today."
Limani also apologized on behalf of the state police.
"I knew we were in her home," he said. "I knew we caused some damage. I didn't know it wasn't rectified."
The state police admitted they made a mistake. They said she will be compensated very soon.
When all of this happened and no one responded, Olsavicky was disgusted. Now she has a different feeling.
"They actually seem like they cared," she said. "He was very nice about it."
Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter
