POLITICS - Malfeasance of Government on Display - again

[Old Ironsights]

Badguys send drugs to random individuals, so Kick-in-Door & Shoot to Kill warrants are issued (Edit: Even "better"... they didn't have a no-knock warrant at all...they just wanted to play Ninja...) to Out of Town Drug Enforcers who weren't even savvy enough to find out who lived in the house they were raiding (happened to be the MAYOR).

http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=104&sid=1455764

There is no justification for this kind of action by those who "serve & protect"! Most of the LEOs I have know are great people, but I have lived long enough to see a tremendous increase in this gung-ho attitude that sees every citizen as a potential perp!

The action taken in this incident was, according to another report that I read, in violation of the warrant that they had. Hell, the Locl Chief of Police wasn't even told this was going down.

How would you ever get over the trauma of something like this happening in your home? Thank God that there were no children there.

I've often thought about a "wrong address" scenario happening in the middle of the night. What would you do if your front door was crashed in and the storm troopers came running through, weapons in hand, as you tried to awaken enough to figure out what was happening.

Had this happened in my house I and not a few other people would be quite full of holes... and people would be screaming at my corpse for being a "cop killer".

I know that accidents happen, but with a little research one can see that things like this are far too frequent.

I hope that heads roll, and that this violated family receives an astronomical settlement.

Who was it that said that those who would trade liberty for security deserve neither?.

This "war on drugs" is getting more and more out of hand every day.

No wonder The Gooberment wants us disarmed.

[Ray Newman]

"Most of the LEOs I have know are great people, but I have lived long enough to see a tremendous increase in this gung-ho attitude that sees every citizen as a potential perp!"
Ol Ironsights

BINGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Old Ironsights]

Looks like the "Drug Enforcers" were from the County - as well as the Sheriff's Office SWAT team.

The Local Chief of Police is righteoulsy PO'd.

More news reports:

http://wjz.com/local/police.raid.mayor.2.788925.html
http://wjz.com/local/police.raid.mayor.2.790454.html

[Modoc ED]

Too bad the LEO/LEOs that shot the dogs won't get what the dogs got.

[Old Ironsights]

Too bad the LEO/LEOs that shot the dogs won't get what the dogs got.

If you read the various accounts of the assault, it is even admitted that one of the dogs was running away when shot.

Maybe the goobs were afraid of "retrograde canine agressiveness"

The "Cheif" of the County is resigning.
http://www.wtop.com/?sid=1451330&nid=25

[AJMD429]

SOME mayors deserve such treatment though - the anti-gun idiots should all get that kind of treatment so they know what the ordinary citizen fears.

Where was the recent case where the SWAT members were give AWARDS for "bravery under fire" - the only problem being they raided the wrong house, and the homeowner just shot back after his wife and children saw bullets come through the door and walls. The rationale was "they had no way of knowing the address was the wrong one." Seems like the innocent
family should be the ones getting a medal for "bravery under fire!"

Who says we don't already live in a socialist, police-state?

[Old Ironsights]

Oh, look... The County's Mall Ninjas didn't even actually have the warrant they claimed to have had.

A Prince George's police spokesman said last week that a Sheriff's Office SWAT team and county police narcotics officers were operating under such a warrant when they broke down the door of Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo, shooting and killing his black Labrador retrievers.

But a review of the warrant indicates that police neither sought nor received permission from Circuit Court Judge Albert W. Northrup to enter without knocking. Northrup found probable cause to suspect that drugs might be in the house and granted police a standard search warrant.

"There's nothing in the four corners of the warrant saying anything about the Calvos being a threat to law enforcement," said Calvo's attorney, Timothy Maloney. "This was a lawless act by law enforcement."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 02664.html

Patrick Murphy, the chief of the Berwyn Heights police, was not informed about the raid in advance. He reviewed the warrant and concluded Tuesday it did not contain the necessary language.

"There is no permission from the judge to treat this as a no-knock warrant. There is no affidavit of probable cause," Chief Murphy said. "The mayor demanded that they show him the warrant and they never did so."

http://www.news8.net/news/stories/0808/541609.html

Did I mention the Local Chief of Police is SERIOUSLY PO'd?

Oh well. It was about Drugs, so it's all OK. The ends justify the Means.

[Old Ironsights]

Update on Berwyn Heights Botched Raid

Things are getting worse for Prince George’s County, Md. police officials after last week’s botched no-knock raid (previously chronicled on C@L here).

Not only did the police not have a warrant to conduct a no-knock raid, but it now appears they were well-aware that a drug ring was delivering large shipments of marijuana to innocent addressees’ homes in the D.C. suburbs. The packages would then be intercepted by other members of the ring, all without the addressees’ knowledge or involvement. Nonetheless, the cops executed their guns-ablazin’ raid on the home of Berwyn Heights mayor Cheye Calvo and his wife Trinity Tomsic, where the cops shot the couple’s black Labs and detained Calvo and his mother-in-law in handcuffs for hours.

The cops have now arrested the delivery truck driver and an accomplice who apparently orchestrated the Berwyn Heights shipment, and P.G. Police Chief Melvin C. High has conceded, ”Most likely, [Calvo and Tomsic] were innocent victims.”

Astoundingly, High refuses to admit that police did anything wrong in the raid. He says in today’s Washington Post:

"In some quarters, this has been viewed as a flawed police operation and an attack on the mayor, which it is not. This was about an address, this was about a name on a package . . . and, in fact, our people did not know that this was the home of the mayor and his family until after the fact."

I correct Chief High: When police officers execute a no-knock raid though they have no warrant or cause to do so, when they blast and shoot their way into a home without first learning who lives there, then they’ve carried out a flawed police operation. That’s the case regardless of whether Calvo and Tomsic are guilty of trafficking drugs.

In Prince George’s County,flawed lawenforcement isn’t unusual. At least, in this case, the victims of the botched raid may have the social stature to fight back.

http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2008/08/ ... ched-raid/

Just... Wow. These same Mall Ninjas seem to get off on shooting innocent dogs during botched raids...

[The Lewis]

These no knock warrants are despicable, I am reluctantly pleased that it happened to the Mayor of a town so perhaps something might come of it and these thuggish raids stopped. Drug addiction is bad, the war on drugs is a whole lot worse.

[JReed]

They executed a no knock warrant that they didn't have and then shot 2 labs. Being able to read must be low on their list of requirements if they couldn't read the warrant well enough to know the limits of it. As far as shooting the labs what did they think they were in danger of being licked to death? Labs are some of the worst guard dogs on the planet might as well be attacked by a stuffed teddy bear. I hope they get slamed. Stuff like this gives good LEO's a bad name.

[505stevec]

Now here is a prime example of 4th Ammendment violation, Excessive Force etc... This Family should sue not only the Agencies but the individual Offficers and their Chiefs or Sheriffs. The difinition of Burglary in our State is "The UNLAWFUL entry in to a dwelling place with the intent to commit a felony or thift therein." Now the unlawful entry is definitely there. the FELONY part may be a stretch but they put these dogs down destroying the owners property. If I was DA I would charge them even if dropping it later for lack of evidence. This is exactly why we want Law Enforcement local. To keep these types of things at the local level so punishment may be swift.

[piller]

This is an example of why we need to hold our law enforcement officers to a very high standard. They have the potential to do tremendous good if they will hold themselves to high standards, and tremendous harm if they run amok. Everyone in the Medical Professions has a State Board which they must answer to (at least as far as I know) and most State Boards are the consumer's (patient's) advocate. We have courts for the laws and law enforcement. I hope the officers who were in the wrong will face the appropriate charges and pay the appropriate penalty. Please don't think that I am against all law enforcement, just the ones who would be a problem no matter what profession they chose to be in. These are the ones who make everyone else look bad by association. I would rather have a small number who are completely good and incorruptible to enforce the law than a large number of ones who I wouldn't be able to trust to stay honest when no one is looking. That is the impression I have of the Texas Rangers. A small force of top quality men. Many of the early ones of the old west had been outlaws and when given a chance and held to high standard by men who earned respect, they showed that they were made of good stuff. They have mostly been a stellar law enforcement agency up through the present time. If they can do it, so can others. Mediocraty and "Good Enough" simply are not good enough.

Hold yourself to high standards and accept nothing less from others and you will not have too many friends, but the ones you do have will be friends you can count on anytime and anywhere.

[Snotwad]

"Drug addiction is bad, the war on drugs is a whole lot worse."

IMHO (from a person who has never even been tempted to use recreational drugs) I firmly believe that drugs should be de-criminalised. They are a problem: a family problem, a medical problem, a social problem, a relationship problem, ad nauseum. But they are not a criminal problem. If someone is driving under the influence, or is intoxicated such that he is a danger to himself or others, arrest and handle just like booze, but possession should not be a violation. The collateral damage is just too great. We just need to let people be responsible for their own conduct, be the choices good or bad. Keeping drugs illegal is a money maker for both the dealers and the enforcers, and the real victims are we, the law abiding citizens who see our rights erroded by bad case law and bad enforcement of laws which attempt to control morals. Personally, if a drug addict were laying, stoned in the street, I would step over him and keep on walking, letting him serve as a good example of bad choices.

[El Mac]

PG County...well that kinda explains it.

[slimster]

Thank you Snotwad, +1 for me! I just don't believe in victimless crimes or legislating morality. Criminalizing drugs, gambling, prostitution, etc. is a waste of taxpayers' money to the benefit of both the system and the criminal elements.

[TCB in TN]

"Drug addiction is bad, the war on drugs is a whole lot worse."

IMHO (from a person who has never even been tempted to use recreational drugs) I firmly believe that drugs should be de-criminalised. They are a problem: a family problem, a medical problem, a social problem, a relationship problem, ad nauseum. But they are not a criminal problem. If someone is driving under the influence, or is intoxicated such that he is a danger to himself or others, arrest and handle just like booze, but possession should not be a violation. The collateral damage is just too great. We just need to let people be responsible for their own conduct, be the choices good or bad. Keeping drugs illegal is a money maker for both the dealers and the enforcers, and the real victims are we, the law abiding citizens who see our rights erroded by bad case law and bad enforcement of laws which attempt to control morals. Personally, if a drug addict were laying, stoned in the street, I would step over him and keep on walking, letting him serve as a good example of bad choices.

Over the last few years I have moved towards this same POV. Although I have seen the damage that drug use and abuse does to many individuals it has become obvious that the War on Drugs has done far more damage than the drugs themselves, while not slowing drug use in the least. The fact is that people use drugs because they want them, their legality or lack there of has not mattered in the least. At this point the damage done by the criminals (made so by the law) and the gov. itself are much more of a problem than the drugs themselves. Time to allow people to live as they see fit, and let them accept the consequences for their own actions.

[FWiedner]

There comes a point where police incomptence and lack of regard for the damage done to innocent citizens identifies cops like these as a greater danger to the community than any law enforcement benefit they might possibly provide.

The Nazi SS did their jobs as they were trained, they were highly organized and efficient, they usually "got their man", but I can't think of anyone who holds them up as heroes or as the model for trusted public servants.

[El Mac]

Yeah, cops bad - dope good.

[Mustang 22]

Snotwad and TCB,

I wish it were as simple as you make it sound, but it's just not. Those people who use the drugs may not be the victims, they are making the decisions to use the drugs, right? The problem is this type of person, after starting drugs generally can not hold on to or get a decent job. It don't take long and they start to have less and less disposable income with which to buy the drugs that they have become dependent on, not to mention the basic needs of the people who depend on them. These people generally turn to other methods of generating income such as burglary, auto theft, prostitution and other activities most of which are criminal. They soon become a burden on society. You and I will pay to feed and house their families. You and I will pay higher premiums on our car and property insurance. We will pay to house these individuals, in jails and prisons, feed them, take care of their health problems and get them back in shape so they can get out and start the cycle over again. There is no shortage of victims from the drug trade!!

Now having said that, I just wonder where the LEOs supervisors were. An operation such as this would not make any agency proud but from what I have read this particular county has had no shortage of questionable incidents recently.

[otteray]

Are there any well documented cases of labs being a threat to life or limb?
I've owned a few and have had contact with lots of dogs. Labs are just plain not aggressive, in my experience with them.
I'm sure that when the door burst open they totally freaked out; but who or what on earth would not? If the mayor was in the room he would have jumped up out of fear only to be shot as well, no doubt.
The gung-ho cops that shot the dogs are not suitible for that line of work, I think, and should be fired.
What drug dealer has attack trained black labs, for pete sake? Didn't they even know that dogs were there?
REALLY STUPID and very sad.

[donw]

i think it would probably be shocking to know how many incidents like this actually take place. in fact, it would probably be staggering to know how many innocent person are slain by police gunfire "in the name of the law" and how many are wrongfully accused/convicted.

i think one of the problems we face now is we've allowed LEO to place themselves in a position where they view themselves as being "above" everyone else resulting in the attitude of "we can do no wrong" and when they do, they will not admit it or even offer compensation when wrong was done "in the name of the law". when have you ever heard an apology from LEO for doing something wrong?

there was a case in poway, calif where they did the same thing and they shot the man who lived there because he took up his 9mm when they began to kick in his door. he survived as he was just shot in the arm. he won his lawsuit but only after a great deal of "too do" and he lost the use of that arm. the LEO HAD THE WRONG ADDRESS..."well, we were give the wrong address by our informant." they evidently did no research on the address and it's occupants.

and yes, LEO/legislators should be held to a higher standard than what some are...IMO

[Old Ironsights]

Now here is a prime example of 4th Ammendment violation, Excessive Force etc... This Family should sue not only the Agencies but the individual Offficers and their Chiefs or Sheriffs. The difinition of Burglary in our State is "The UNLAWFUL entry in to a dwelling place with the intent to commit a felony or thift therein." Now the unlawful entry is definitely there. the FELONY part may be a stretch but they put these dogs down destroying the owners property. If I was DA I would charge them even if dropping it later for lack of evidence. This is exactly why we want Law Enforcement local. To keep these types of things at the local level so punishment may be swift.

I absolutely agree. I would also go so far as to say it should also be run like a Sheriff's dept... with an elected "chief" who is regularly accountable to the voters and "at will" officers/deputies. But that's another thread.

Here's an interesting take on the whole original topic... my sister grew up here in Chicago and lives on the Maryland side of DC - but is quite familiar with the Prince George County politics since one of her jobs was in PGC.

Her take is this:

The "Big Dogs" of PGCP wanted to put "Andy & the Berwin/Mayberry Fife squad" in their place by totally dissing the him and carrying out a high profile raid in his town, without consulting him. Pretty "Chicago Typical" use of muscle to "send a message".

Unfortunately for PGCP, "Andy" has a big brass pair and they raided too high of a profile homeowner.

So the PGCCoP is now resigning under an evin bigger cloud and the PGCSD is trying to figure out how to disassociate the use of their SWAT team from the fiasco.

She tells me that the PGCP are constantly stepping on the toes of the small township PDs... and no one can come up with any reason more cogent than pure disregard/disrespect for the Local Governments and a desire to look good to the Feds.

That's her take anyway.

[El Mac]

Yeah. They looked so good to the feds, the Feds have decided to investigate them...