Completely in character. That's why he holed up in his boat and fought. Only realistic chance of being compensated is pitching a big enough fit that public opinion is on your side. If he had killed some of the officers it may have been a bigger deal and gone better for him, sadly.

How long until they start doing this for vanlifers?

I mean... Unreasonable, sure. Out of character for US systems, no, not really.

That surprised me. Not exactly sure what other options there are, maybe impounding them somewhere but they would just accrue fees that couldn't be paid and probably be destroyed or auctioned (if anyone actually wanted them).