Police Raid Berwyn Heights Mayor's Home, Kill His 2 Dogs

[douglas9]

Source: Washington Post

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.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/30/AR2008073003299_pf.html

[PDJane]

1. Germany, 1939 or so.

[liberal N proud]

2. What gave them the right kill the dogs?

That is just wrong!

[Benhurst]

3. Shh!

It's best to keep such thoughts to yourself in BushAmerica.

[napi21]

6. That was my first reaction too, BUT I don't know anything about the

dogs. Unfortunately, some people do keep dogs that are trined to attack any intruders. IfF that was the case, they the officers were protecting themselves. Before we make a judgement, we need to hear the whole story.

[atreides1]

10. Both were Black Labs

My dog isn't trained to attack, but I know she'll defend her house, as do most dogs.

"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 particularly like the part about shooting the 4-year-old dog as it was running away it seems! It's a good thing his moter-in-law didn't run away, the cops probably would have shot her too.


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

Shucks, the big bad SWAT cop felt threatened by dogs who were doing exactly what most dogs will do when a stranger enters their turf.

Seems like you've already made the judgement that the cops were defending themselves, so no matter what might come out later I don't believe you'll change your mind.

By the way why not inform the local police, after all this guy is the mayor of Berwyn?

[dysfunctional press]

18. if anybody- burglar, cop, repairman, came in our house- our black lab would wag it's tail...

well, the whole back half of it's body, with a ball in her mouth wanting to play fetch. i've NEVER seen her even approach viciousness. what complete assholes they are for killing those dogs. :grr:

[napi21]

19. You're wrong about me. IF that's what happened, the "swat team" should

be punished severly! I am a dog lover, and I have been volunteer fostering for about 10 years! All I meant was that I don't believe in making a judgement in ANY situation until I've heard the full story. Some cops really shouldn't have that kind of a job. There have been several officers here in Ga who lost their jobs and were severly fined for responding to calls with a similar reaction! It turned out they were simply afraid of ALL DOGS and killed them before they even had a chance to find out if they were friend or foe.

[teenagebambam]

23. I knew those dogs!

I used to live in that neighborhood and would meet up with Cheye on walks. They were sweet dogs, I can't imagine they exhibited any behavior requiring lethal force, EVEN with armed intruders knocking the door down.

[Pavulon]

60. Reality time

32 pounds of weed is a massive felony. Prison term kind of felony.

So when police serve a felony warrant on large dealers they use swat. Some people may not want to do their 10 - 20 years in prison.

If they used excessive force they should be punished.

But you have to ask, If they were the moving that kind of dope they should expect visitors.

They are actually lucky, intruders "home invasion" generally ends up with everyone dead, tapped in the back of the head.

You think people will not kill for 100 - 200 k of cash?

The law is stupid, but until it is repealed breaking it means problems.

[KayLaw]

61. Excuse me!

No one has said they were moving any dope at all! No one has been charged with any crime at all and it's very unlikely anyone in the house had anything to do with the package. It's not an uncommon way for drug dealers to move dope. Had the police not posed as delivery people and taken the package to the house, it's likely the package would have been intercepted by the person it was actually meant for.

This could happen to you, you know, or anyone of us.

[KayLaw]

62. Read this.

It's happened to other people.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/08/01/ST2008080103916.html

[aquart]

36. Black Labs are the nicest people on the planet.

Short of rabies, there is NO excuse for shooting a black Lab.

[Th1onein]

65. The dog could have been going to get a gun.

You never know what's gonna happen in these drug raids. There was that mother and her baby and other children cowered into a dark corner of one room, a few months ago, and the cops thought the baby was a gun and shot and killed the mother (and shot the baby's finger off).

[Th1onein]

66. CALL THEM: 240-508-7638

This is the number for the "public relations" officer, Sgt. Ellis, whose agency was responsible for carrying out the no-knock search warrant handed down from the County police, who were the ones responsible for delivering the marijuana to the house. He admits that they busted into the house and shot the dogs. I asked him if he was ashamed of himself; he said he feels bad anytime something like this happens. He said that his officers felt "threatened" by the dogs. Yeah, right. He doesn't admit that one of the dogs was running into another room when they shot it. He said they are "investigating" this. Uh huh. Probably still trying to figure out a way to pin this on the mayor or his wife.

CALL THEM. Let them know that there are people out here who are PISSED OFF about their behavior. Don't just sit there and take it. Do something, even if it's just a phone call.

By the way, I think that number is his cell phone.

[isentropic]

68. We will all be so much safer when only police are allowed to own guns.

:shrug:

[jayfish]

26. Actually, We Need To Be More Creative...

in how these warrants are executed. For instance the officers could have pulled up to the front door then called the homeowners to tell them they are about to execute a search warrant and to move any dogs in the house outside.

Jay

[hedgehog]

35. They probably were thinking of the puppy that supposedly killed

the baby in Tulsa.



Vicious brutes, those Labs!

[tuckessee]

8. It's SOP for special entry teams to kill all dogs for "tactical" reasons.

It's frequently the first thing a squad of JBT's will do when executing a raid in order to neutralize "attack" and "security" dogs

[RaleighNCDUer]

27. That 'tactical' reason being

shock and awe at the display of lethal force, meant to scare the shit out of whoever they are busting in on.

Had nothing to do with the dogs - everything to do with intimidation.

ON EDIT:

Funny how you never see them use that tactic on "Cops".

[hamsterjill]

44. What jerks!

The police do this to intimidate the humans in the household. Makes me sick. I feel sorry for the dogs who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They did nothing to deserve this.

[Realityhack]

55. We do not have enough information to make that judgement.

It would not be 'just wrong' if the police had reason to believe the dogs would attack. Dogs are hard to predict, just because they where labs doesn't mean the police didn't see a big dog headed towards them.

Until I know I must reserve judgment.

[Realityhack]

58. Upon further reading.

It sounds like one of the dogs was running away. Unless other officers where entering from that direction that is not an officer safety issue IMO. However, it might not break procedure.

The other dog may well have been seen as a threat.

[davepc]

57. "Officer Saftey"

Which is the defense used whenever the agents of the state need to make excuses for their behavior.

[hedgehog]

4. Now we know how to destroy someone - just mail them some marijuana!

[tuckessee]

5. Why do even the spokesperson cops remain "anonymous"?

Can we say "secret police"?

[RaleighNCDUer]

7. The militarization of the police.

Posse Comitatus prevents the use of the military as police - ergo, you must turn the police into a military.

SWAT was originally intended for the most serious situations, heavily armed bad guys with hostages. Now, it's being used for routine drug busts.

This reads like it's a set up. Only major dealers and cops have access to such amounts of dope. Dealers would not be so dumb as to have the dope mailed to the house, so that eliminates the Mayor & wife as dealers.

Therefore, they were set up by somebody.

If a dealer set them up, there would be no reason to mail them 32 lbs of grass, when 2 lbs would do the job. That's a lot of profit flushed away.

Therefore, they were set up by the police.

I wonder who the mayor, or his finance officer wife, pissed off.

[Indenturedebtor]

12. That was my first thought too. Who mails 32 pounds of pot?

The cost - benefit analysis make this story even more rediculous. And who buys 32 pounds of pot but a dealer? Wouldn't a dealer that can move 32 pounds of pot have a distribution network like say a courier?

The drug war is a great way to advance the police state!

[ozymandius]

29. Since 9/11 and Anthrax there are new rules in place regarding mailed packages.

Anything weighing more than one pound must be presented, in person, by a clerk at the post office in order for it to be processed for shipment. The goal is positive identification of the sender.

[Nevernose]

52. That's actually not so unusual

Apparently they did have a courier -- the USPS. As gas prices rise and national drug-distribution junkets become pricier, mailing will become more and more common. Also, a lot of people don't realize it, but pot prices on the East Coast can be ten times what they are in Texas or Northern California (at least they were the last time I checked).

I worked with a guy who had mushrooms mailed to him on a fairly regular basis. It was spending money and fun on the weekends. When the grower (whom he had never met; he answered an ad in High Times) got busted a few years into the relationship, the police seized all of his mailing records, then sent out a bunch of their own shrooms to anyone on the list who requested more. My buddy, according to him, tried to wash his hands and discovered the water was off. Then a knock at the door as the postman (a different postman than normal) was there with a package, and the rest is history.

Another former coworker delivered pizzas with me all winter long, used all of his money on pounds and pounds of Mexican weed, and spent the other half of the year driving around the upper Midwest and New England selling it for ten times what he'd paid for it. The guy was making 50 or 60 thousand dollars a year delivering pizza (and weed). Anyway, after a few years of this, he'd made enough contacts so that he could run his business mail-order. He used UPS to distribute thousands of pounds all over the country in large quantities. He was getting it from NoCal national park growers, grow houses, The Mexicans, etc. Last I heard, he avoided prison by turning in all of his buyers.

Another case: there was a big bust in upstate New York a couple of years ago. An elementary school principal (who was making damn good money, btw), turned out to be a very large distributor of ecstasy.

I've got more, but there are issues with the statute of limitations, if you get my drift. Maybe you can just take me on faith that I've seen a lot of rich, powerful people do a lot of very stupid things were drugs and money are concerned.

I'm certainly not defending the police on this -- the drug war is destroying lives and freedoms all over the world -- I'm just making the point that it really isn't that uncommon for people to buy drugs through the mail or for rich, successful people to buy enough to sell to friends on the side. Happens all the time.

(For the record, it's been years since I took any kind of illegal drugs. Not 'cause they're illegal, I just don't feel like it)

[RedShoes]

15. wasn't he the guy who insisted the police pay red light fines?

he said that no one was above the law...

maybe this is retribution? :shrug:

[Indenturedebtor]

31. Maybe? If that's true imo there's no maybe about it

Anyone who's had interactions with a few cops wouldn't doubt for a second how this unfolded.

[coffeenap]

9. Now we are responsible for what someone MAILS to us?? WTF??

Not to mention subject to ridiculous violence... for pot???

:grr:

[eShirl]

11. that's how they nailed "Gilligan" years ago

(actor Bob Denver)

[dysfunctional press]

20. and- it was maryann (dawn wells) who sent him the weed, iirc.

i think mick fleetwood(or was it john mcvie) got pinched the same way.

[kirby]

13. Just wait til they bust your door down...

shoot your dogs and knock your teeth out because some spammer sent you a child porn photo that you never saw because it is sitting in your spam folder.

[coffeenap]

24. Sigh...I am CERTAIN it has already happened to someone....nt

[maxsolomon]

14. I'd have the lawsuit filed within 5 minutes of court opening this morning

Heads need to roll, and the WOD needs to end.

C'mon, congress, pass Barney Frank's legislation.

[RedShoes]

16. what's the penalty for that amount?

it seems like an awful lot.

[frogcycle]

17. Well, if we can't get meaningful investigations

of corruption in the Justice Department, of election fraud, of sweetheart $multi-billion no-bid contracts, of railroading of a governor of Alabama, maybe we can get a serious investigation of who was behind this setup.

Oh, wait...

[Lars39]

21. At the very least, shouldn't it have been a state police force

or even the FBI investigating this? Wouldn't the mayor be the boss of the police dept?

[Blue_Tires]

25. no

This is the mayor of a small municipality in a HUGE county...the county is run by a county executive and county council, and these were (famously inept and corrupt) county police SWAT...Knowing the way things are run in P.G., it would not surprise me if this was some kind of set-up...

[Sewsojm]

32. Agreed,

it smells rotten as hell, they had already watched him walking his dogs and could see they were of no threat but they immediately killed the dogs.

[jonmiller74]

22. after reading the article it seems,

like a turf war is brewing between the different branches of law enforcement. Maybe a power struggle for the streets of Chicago..er, Berwyn Heights.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

45. Prince Georges County cops

are a far different breed from our local hamlets' police. I've always found my town police very helpful and polite. I've watched county officers toss their freakin' trash in the middle of the street, and been subjected to rude, nasty behavior...and I wasn't under arrest. Trust me, you don't want to be on the wrong side of these cops. They've been known to kill people as well as dogs.

I live not far from Berwyn Heights. It's not too different from our town...maybe they have a little less crime. I'm thinking someone wanted to set up his wife. Creepy. :(

[The Wizard]

28. We're being conditioned

to accept any level of police insanity for the next false flag attack when Bush declares martial law and makes himself president for life like Idi Amin, another brain damaged tyrant.

[Sewsojm]

33. This kind of insanity, the marine rifleman's creed

Rifleman's Creed - This is my Rifle


This is my rifle.

There are many like it, but this one is MINE.

My rifle is my best friend. It is my life.

I must master it as I must master my life.

My rifle without me is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless.

I must fire my rifle true.

I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me.

I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will...

My rifle and myself know that what counts in war is not the rounds we fire,

the noise of our bursts, nor the smoke we make.

We know it is the hits that count. We will hit...

My rifle is human, even as I, because it is my life.

Thus, I will learn it as a brother.

I will learn its weaknesses, its strengths, its parts, its accessories,
its sights, and its barrel.

I will ever guard it against the ravages of weather and damage.

I will keep my rifle clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready.

We will become part of each other. We will...

Before God I swear this creed.

My rifle and myself are the defenders of my country.

We are the masters of our enemy.

We are the saviors of my life.

So be it, until there is no enemy, but PEACE.

-- Maj Gen WH Rupertus

[hedgehog]

34. Ummm, yeah, having a shoot-out with the SWAT team.

Let me know how that works out for ya....

[isentropic]

69. You're right. We waited too long and now all we can do is bend over and beg

to be buttfucked. Over and over.

[JerseygirlCT]

30. I'm sorry, but really.

All that was needed over pot? Really?

Like there aren't real crimes being committed in PG county?

[beevul]

37. Fucking assholes.

Shooting a persons dogs for no good reason...thats just mean.

Of course, when someone shoots a police dog...well...they're charged with MURDER of a police officer.

Maybe the cops ought to be charged with murder of a citizen for this. Turnabout and all.

Fucking assholes. When will this shit end?

[FiveGoodMen]

42. It will end when "tough on crime" ceases to be a popular phrase.

Because you never know how tough is tough enough.

[Va Lefty]

38. Check out the "attitude" of P.G. County Police

Sgt. Mario Ellis, a Sheriff's Office spokesman, said "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."

The prick thinks this is funny!!:mad:

[struggle4progress]

39. Contributed to Biden and Huckabee in 2007

http://fundrace.huffingtonpost.com/neighbors.php?type=name&lname=Calvo&fname=Cheye

Cheye Calvo is the director of expansion at The SEED Foundation. He is responsible for working with communities and leaders from across the country to open new SEED schools. Cheye has two decades of experience working with elected leaders at all levels of government. He spent seven years with the bipartisan National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), serving as a senior policy advisor and representing state lawmakers before Congress and federal agencies. Cheye managed government relations with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and served as a policy advisor to the Southern Governors’ Association (SGA). Early in his career, Cheye worked for the Prince George’s County Council in Maryland as a legislative aide. He earned his master’s and bachelor’s degrees in History from the University of Wyoming. Cheye currently serves his second term as mayor of the inner-Beltway town of Berwyn Heights, Maryland.
http://www.seedfoundation.com/about_seed/staff.aspx

Guy's probably too serious a pol to be a stoner: plays both sides of the aisle, for example. Quite a large porch delivery, too. My first guess might be somebody's got a grudge

[HCE SuiGeneris]

40. Medals of Commendation for everyone in the Police Department!

Re: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3418253

[leftyladyfrommo]

41. Just over on Raw Story and boy are people mad about this.

I think people are really getting afraid that we have become a police state. And I am beginning to think that maybe we have, too. The outrage is huge.

Part of it is over the dogs - which weren't doing anything at all.

But why did the police deliver 32 onces or pounds or whatever of pot and then raid the house. The people inside the house hadn't even opened it.

This is kind of everyone's worst nightmare. The SS breaking down your door in the middle of the night.

[Pavulon]

43. 150,000 and my numbers are old

but 32 lbs of dope is a shitload. People do not just send you 150k for no reason.

That kind of dope puts you in prison for 10 - 20 years. Not jail, federal prison.

In my college days no one ever accidentally dropped 32 pounds of weed at my place.

Sucks for the dogs, if they were dealing that kind of weight they should not be surprised that a swat team shows up and not barney fife.

on edit:

ten bucks someone got caught, his supplier, and flipped on him.

[DS1]

46. SWAT are scum wusses too timid to sign up for real combat

fuck em

[truthisfreedom]

47. Knock, maybe?

Pot isn't exactly dangerous.

[superconnected]

48. Horrifying. Poor dogs.

Condolences to the family.

[MadrasT]

49. Completely unacceptable

And stinks to high heaven. There's almost nothing scarier than "cops gone bad". Who the fuck can stop them?

:kick:

[MadrasT]

50. Wait just one minute

The article at Raw Story says:

Prince George's County Police said Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo brought a 32-pound package of marijuana into his home that had been delivered by officers posing as delivery men.

"Officers posing as delivery men?" How can that NOT be a set up?

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/SWAT_team_kills_2_dogs_in_0731.html

:wtf:

[Pavulon]

59. Here is how

Guy at fedex or post office smells dope in a package. Calls the police. The USPS is the biggest distributor of drugs in the US.

The police deliver the package and see if the person takes it.

If they do they arrest them.

That is at least 100k of dope, ever gotten 100k in the mail by mistake?

[mitchum]

51. A SWAT team is an overwhelming show of COWARDICE

jackbooted sissies in numbers

[AlabamaBrightBlueDot]

53. Something missing...

What is the mayors political affiliation?

[leftyladyfrommo]

54. This whole thing just smells to high heaven.

The problem is that this could happen to anyone. If a package was delivered to my front door I would go out and carry it in. These people never opened it.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

64. He worked as an aide to a republican county council member

in the mid 1990s. But around here, that doesn't necessarily make him a republican.

Regardless of political affiliation, he and his wife sound like decent people...active in the community, and genuinely concerned about the citizens of Berwyn Heights.

The Prince George's County police department has long had a reputation for brutality, rudeness, and botched investigations. They are a festering wound that needs to be sterilized.

[KayLaw]

56. The 4-year-old was shot from behind.

He was frightened and running away.

The police are out of control.

[question everything]

63. I just heard about it on CNN. This is outrageous. (nt)

[JI7]

67. no excuse

it wasn't a situation where they thought anyone's life was in danger. it was stupid drugs.

fuck them.

[WriteDown]

70. Like I've said before....

If only this was Kwame Kilpatrick's house or Mayor Daley's house, then these officers would all be found dead the next morning in a ditch somewhere. I am only half kidding about that. I hope they ruin each and every one of these idiots. They should be left penniless with zero opportunities for any job that does not involve a drive-through window. A lengthy jail sentence would also fit well.