Cops raid home, kill two dogs (labs)

Sweet72947

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#1
A SWAT team for a package of weed? Now crack or meth or coke I might be able to understand, but WEED?

You need to register on washingtonpost.com to read this article, but here's the link anyway:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/30/AR2008073003299_2.html?nav=hcmodule


Police Raid Berwyn Heights Mayor's Home, Kill His Two Dogs

By Aaron C. Davis
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 31, 2008; Page B01

A police SWAT team raided the home of the mayor in the Prince George's County town of Berwyn Heights on Tuesday, shooting and killing his two dogs, after he brought in a 32-pound package of marijuana that had been delivered to his doorstep, police said.

Mayor Cheye Calvo was not arrested in the raid, which was carried out about 7 p.m. by the Sheriff's Office SWAT team and county police narcotics officers. Prince George's police spokesman Henry Tippett said yesterday that all the residents of the house -- Calvo, his wife and his mother-in-law -- are "persons of interest" in the case.

The package was addressed to Calvo's wife, Trinity Tomsic, said law enforcement officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is ongoing.

Tippett said police are working to determine for whom the drugs were meant.

Calvo said yesterday that he did not know how the drugs wound up on his doorstep. He works part time as the mayor and serves as director of expansion for the SEED Foundation, a well-known national nonprofit group that runs urban public boarding schools.


"My government blew through my doors and killed my dogs," Calvo said. "They thought we were drug dealers, and we were treated as such. I don't think they really ever considered that we weren't."

Calvo described a chaotic scene, in which he -- wearing only underwear and socks -- and his mother-in-law were handcuffed and interrogated for hours. They were surrounded by the dogs' carcasses and pools of the dogs' blood, Calvo said.

Spokesmen for the Sheriff's Office and Prince George's police expressed regret yesterday that the mayor's dogs were killed. But they defended the way the raid was carried out, saying it was proper for a case involving such a large amount of drugs.

Sgt. Mario Ellis, a Sheriff's Office spokesman, said the deputies who entered Calvo's home "apparently felt threatened" by the dogs.

"We're not in the habit of going to homes and shooting peoples' dogs," Ellis said. "If we were, there would be a lot more dead dogs around the county."

Calvo, 37, has been mayor of the 3,000-person town near College Park since 2004. His wife is a finance officer for the state, he said.

The investigation that led police to their house in the 8500 block of Edmonston Road began in Arizona, officials said. There, a police dog at a shipping facility identified the package as being filled with marijuana. Prince George's officers posed as deliverymen and brought it to Calvo's home.
Calvo said he came home early from work Tuesday. While walking the dogs, Calvo said, he noticed several black sport-utility vehicles and a woman parked in a car down the street.

"I figured someone was having a party," he recalled.

It was the police. They were watching, waiting for someone to bring the package into the house.

As Calvo returned to the house, he said, he spotted the large package that his mother-in-law had told a deliveryman to leave on the porch. He placed it on a buffet table near the front door and went upstairs to change.

"I brought it inside because I figured it was something we'd gotten for the garden," he said.

Moments later, just after he had undressed, Calvo said, he heard his mother-in-law scream that someone was coming toward the house. He looked out his bedroom window and saw officers in SWAT gear running across the lawn.

"I heard a loud crash and then 'bang, bang, bang,' " he said, recalling the sounds of the police shooting the dogs. "I hit the floor."

As the police came in, Calvo said, they shot his 7-year-old black Labrador retriever, Payton, near the front door and then his 4-year-old dog, Chase, also a black Lab, as the dog ran into a back room. Walking through his house yesterday, Calvo pointed out a bullet hole in the drywall where the younger dog had been shot.


"I understand they have a job to do, but it didn't have to go like that," Calvo said. He said the police could have knocked on his door and asked him about the package. "I've never done drugs in my life. Anyone who knows me knows that I am so adamantly opposed to them."

Police said yesterday that, when they seized the package during the raid, it was unopened.

Berwyn Heights Police Chief Patrick Murphy said county police and the Sheriff's Office had not notified his department of the raid. He said town police could have conducted the search without a SWAT team.

"You can't tell me the chief of police of a municipality wouldn't have been able to knock on the door of the mayor of that municipality, gain his confidence and enter the residence," Murphy said. "It would not have been a necessity to shoot and kill this man's dogs."
 

Buddy'sParents

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#2
Wait, police officers dressed up and delivered the package? And then when the man took the package in his home, they raided his home and killed his dogs? WTF? Am I reading that right? Please tell me my migraine has made me go crazy and that I read that wrong.

:( :yikes: :mad: :(
 

AGonzalez

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#4
Lawsuit hell, I smell entrapment. There's no way that can hold up in court, not to mention if I *know* I'm getting a package that's illegal in the mail, I'm not going to throw it on the counter and walk away after taking it inside, I'm going to hide it as fast as possible.
That's total BS, anybody could have mailed that package to anyone in the world, it's not like you can keep people from sending you mail, and if there's a way someone please let me know because I keep getting these things called "bills" in the mail and I don't want them either!
 

Buddy'sParents

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#6
Making sure I wasn't crazy and re-read it...

Prince George's officers posed as deliverymen and brought it to Calvo's home.
Why not just question the household? A raid? Really? *shakes head*
 

noludoru

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#7
WTFWTFWTFWTF??????

I mean.. WTF...


Why in the world would someone send this guy a package in the mail containing 32 lb of marijuana?


To create a situation like this, or at least one where suspicion would be cast upon the mayor. I would think the answer to that question is obvious?
 

Lilavati

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#9
Lets see, this is case number . . . oh hell, I lost count, of police raids going berserk and killing people or animals under circumstances when it was either manifestly unneccesary or just plain the wrong address.

For example, heres another beauty, though fortunately, no person or animal was harmed: http://wcco.com/iteam/swat.team.honored.2.783216.html


I've being saying for years now . . . you think the War on Terror is damaging our civil rights? Let me introduce you to the drug war, which has been doing so more more than 30 years and yet no one seems to mind . . . except the people who have black clad thugs with guns break into their home and shoot at them and their dogs, of course.
 
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#10
Totally on accident, I came across another Prince George's County law enforcement/dog debachery story this morning....

Police Raid Wrong Address, Kill Couple's Dog

An Accokeek couple is demanding an apology after Prince George's County Sheriff's Deputies burst into their home and killed their dog - all because deputies went to the wrong address.

Pam and Frank Myers were tucked away in their home Friday night watching a movie when the warrant squad pounced.

"All of a sudden I hear, bang, bang, bang, 'Open the door, police, open the door,'" said Pam Myers.

For 45 minutes the Myers were kept prisoner in their own home.

"They wouldn't let me go to the bathroom which is like seven feet down the hall," said Frank Myers.

"it was terrifying. I can't sit on my couch at night any more. I'm looking over my shoulder the whole time," said Pam Myers.

The Myers say the deputies knew immediately they had raided the wrong home. They say it could have ended with an apology, until the couple heard two shots from the yard.

"And I said, 'You just shot my dog," said Pam Myers, through tears. "I just wanted to go out and hold her a bit. They wouldn't even let me go out."

The couple's five-year-old boxer Pearl was killed. The deputy says he feared for his life. They say the dog would bark but was no danger to the deputies.

ABC 7/NewsChannel 8's Brad Bell reports that a search of court records shows a warrant for a suspected drug dealer who lives two doors away at 14610 Livingston Road. The address is clearly displayed on that house.

"It's just not right that people have to worry about - police have their jobs to do, but the house is marked over there. All they had to do was go look," she said. "I want the sheriff to apologize to my family for killing their dog."

The Myers say they have received no apology. They say the deputies just left the scene, offering no explanation. Deputies didn't even acknowledge that they had killed the dog, according to the Myers.

The Sheriff's Department says it's investigating what went wrong.

Deputies did, incidently, arrest the man named in the warrant Monday morning on felony gun and drug charges.

http://nevernwo.blogspot.com/
Wow.
 

Lilavati

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#11
Totally on accident, I came across another Prince George's County law enforcement/dog debachery story this morning....



Wow.

Yep, that one was a while ago, last I heard the family was suing . . unfortunately, the dog has "no value" and the police are probably immune.


This is not an uncommon event, I'm afraid. And sometimes its people who get killed.

Actually, with the Khang family story I posted above, the only thing that surprised me is that Mr. Khang was not immedately arrested and being put on trial for attacking a police officer. Because that's pretty much par for the course too . . . .

This is not rare, and often, there is absolutely no recourse. In fact, if the family defends themselves (because they have no reason to think its the police) they are arrested and charged.

One gentleman shot a cop who was part of a no-knock paramilitary raid. Looking for pot. Wrong house. He was alone with his 13 year old neice, and armed men broke in, and he thought the worst. He shot one of the men, who did not annouce themselves as police (or if they did, he was in the basement and did not hear them) and is now on trial for captial murder. As their justification for getting the WRONG HOUSE they pointed out that they had found the butt of a marajuana cigarette in an ashtray.

This sort of thing is a horrific violation of our rights and human decency, but it happens all the time, and the justification . . . drugs. Always drugs. Usually, marijuana. They might destroy the evidence you see, so its necessary to assult their home with a no-knock paramilitary raid, even if the suspect has no history of violence. Its worth someone getting shot so that they don't flush the pot down the toilet. Really, it is. Really. And if its the wrong house? Or they are innocent? Oh, well, gotta break some eggs . . .

Another good one is the house that got raided because their electricity bill was "too high" so they had to be growing pot. Nope, raising iguanas, a totally legal activity.
 

Buddy'sParents

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#12
:yikes:

That police department is... is... corrupt or something. They should be ashamed. People scare me.. even the ones that are "supposed to protect". *shakes head*
 
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#13
This is ridiculous. The police delivered the package? And when he accepted it they raided his house and accused him of being a drug dealer? How does that even make sense???

And then the other stories you guys posted, omg. That makes me so angry. Like, speechless angry. AHH.
 

Lilavati

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#14
Here are more, with dead dogs:

http://www.theagitator.com/?s=puppycide

This one is particularly fascinating, read the comments, they explain why there's no outrage. Because, obviously, if the cops are raiding your home, even if there is no evidence of a crime, you are a criminal, and you deserve to have your dog shot (or be banned from owning dogs for life). I've heard similar comments from real people . . .they must have doing soemthing wrong, or, my favorite "they should have lived in a better part of town.

http://www.wickedlocal.com/wareham/news/x379991366/Drug-raid-is-a-bust


I'm not done yet!

Here's more!

http://www.windypundit.com/archives/2008/08/the_lima_raid_why_he_shot.html Dead person, dead dogs.

More awards for attacking innocent people:

http://www.theagitator.com/2006/11/20/your-morning-outrage/

And here's another one!

http://www.windypundit.com/archives/2007/05/lately_ive_been_blogging_about.html

Here's a paper about it by the CATO institute, with which I do not always agree, but they have this right: http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6476
 

Sweet72947

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#15

Lilavati

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#17
They would not have needed to shoot these dogs, or any of the dogs in my earlier links, if they had behaved reasonably with regards to the potential threat. No-knock raids and SWAT teams were originally developed to deal with armed, violent offenders, not pot-heads, small-time drug dealers, and innocent neighbors. NONE of these indicents had to happen, in NONE of them was that level of firepower justified. In no case was putting the life of the suspect (if the suspect even lived at the raided house) and police officers (who are much more likely to be shot at if they bust into someone's house shooting) and innocent bystanders in danger.

Frankly, the no-knock paramilitary drug raid culture is a case of police officers wanting to feel macho by dressing up in raid gear, carrying high-powered weapons, and playing solider. Then they can talk about how courageous they were busting an unarmed pot-head. Its not that they aren't justified in making an arrest, but the tactics are WAY out of proportion to the threat to either the officers or society.
 

bubbatd

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#19
Sounds like a set up to me . Someone didn't like the mayor and sent the package and notified the police . I'm so upset about the dogs !!!!! How horrible !
 
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#20
When I put these cases into the perspective of thinking "what if it happened to me?" it makes me want to go check and make sure all my doors are locked. Or keep my dogs crated constantly. :(
 

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