Md. mayor's dogs killed by SWAT after cops deliver pot

[dc dalton]

You know we were just talking about this (pot) the other day ... another GREAT reason to stop this madness over it and get the cops doing something useful BESIDES killing pets (yes folks sorry, this story has a sad ending)

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/SWAT_t...s_in_0731.html

My question is this .... a box of pot is delivered (by the cops nonetheless) and they bring in a heavies (SWAT) to raid the house to find the pot THEY delivered? Then they kill two labs as they burst in? Seriously WTF is going on with the Gestapo tactics by police forces lately?

[ihunt49]

WTF is going on down there!? Something smells fishy for sure.

[dc dalton]

Originally Posted by ihunt49

WTF is going on down there!? Something smells fishy for sure.

Well then again it is Maryland and after the socialist republic of Jersey Maryland ain't far behind

[ar15jules]

I don't know about the dogs because I wasn't there, but most honest people don't have $32,000 of a currently ILLEGAL substance sent to them via a parcel carrier. Poor guy.....

[larrymeyer]

http://www.officer.com/online/articl...ion=1&id=42584

SWAT Team Raids Maryland Mayor's Home, Kills 2 Dogs


Posted: Friday, August 1, 2008
Updated: August 1st, 2008 09:14 AM EDT



BERWYN HEIGHTS, Md. - A SWAT team raided the home of a Washington, D.C.-area mayor, killing his two black Labrador retrievers and seizing an unopened package of marijuana delivered there.

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. The Tuesday evening raid was conducted by county police narcotics officers and a sheriff's office SWAT Team.

The package was addressed to Calvo's wife, Trinity Tomsic. His mother-in-law had asked the supposed delivery men to leave the package outside. Calvo has not been charged, though police said he, his wife and his mother-in-law are "persons of interest" in an ongoing investigation.

"We never opened the box. We have nothing to do with this box," Calvo said.

Sheriff's office spokesman Sgt. Mario Ellis says deputies "apparently felt threatened" when they shot the dogs.

Calvo said officers entered about 7:30 p.m., first shooting 7-year-old Payton. They then pursued 4-year-old Chase, who ran away and was shot by police from behind, he said.

Calvo said he doesn't have any idea how the package ended up at his house. He called the raid "the most traumatic experience" of his life.

Calvo, who called his town "Mayberry inside the Capital Beltway," gets a small stipend as mayor and works at the SEED Foundation, a nonprofit that runs public boarding schools for at-risk students. His wife works as a state finance officer.

"These were two beautiful black Labradors who were well-known in the community. We walked them twice a day; little kids knew their names and would come up to them and pet them," he said.

[LittleRedToyota]

i try not to jump to conlusions from media stories...as they often turn out to be inaccurate at best.

but, i'm having a hard time figuring out how someone feels threatened by a labrador that is *running away* from them.

and, if, in fact, the SWAT team did not even wait for the people to open the package before raiding, i think they goofed.

anyone can send any package of anything they want to anyone. most normal people, when a package is delivered to them, are at least going to accept it from the delivery guy and take it inside...even if they aren't expecting it. (not really what you should do, but what prolly 90% of people would do.) most would even likely open it to see what it is.

i hope they have some other evidence.

[625]

i hope they have some other evidence.

I agree with everything you typed here. If they really did shoot that dog as it ran away, it only makes the general public more distrustful and resentful of police.

I'm guessing they have other evidence. It would be easier to set someone up with something other than 32 pounds of weed. That's a lot of any type of drug. Stinky drug too. I'm guessing the mayor is guilty, but we'll have to wait for the trial.

[dc dalton]

We should merge this thread with the earlier one about it:

http://www.pafoa.org/forum/lounge-10...liver-pot.html

[TJB63]

Gotta Agree with You LTR -- It would be interesting to know the whole story as Leos’ just don't go around delivering illegal drugs to citizens so they can bust them.

From what's written here, It sounds as if we have some trigger happy SWAT members that probably should not be allowed on the force, But then again we don't know the whole story as of yet. However I'm sure the Dogs lives could have been spared; After all they were probably just doing what comes naturally to them, defending their territory.

It's just a Real Shame that it wasn't Baltimore's Mayor - Sheila Dixon talk about a crooked politician.

TJB

[LittleRedToyota]

Originally Posted by 625

It would be easier to set someone up with something other than 32 pounds of weed.

i wasn't suggesting that the police (or anyone else) intentionally set the mayor up.

however, it is not an uncommon technique for drug dealers (and other criminals) to have illegal goods shipped to a random person in a random house that they know will generally not be home when the package is delivered.

it's not hard to find a home where no one is typically home during the day (when deliveries often happen). so, the UPS/FedEx guy or mailman brings the package...rings the doorbell...nobody is home, so he leaves the package on the porch.

drug dealer knows what day the delivery is coming and watches the house. after the delivery guy leaves, drug dealer grabs package off porch and has his illegal goods...which cannot be traced to him.

now, somewhere along the delivery route, someone gets suspicous and opens the package. local (to delivery location) police are informed and pose as delivery guy and deliver package. however, unlike the real delivery guy who will prolly deliver the package when the homeowner is not home, the police (who do want the person to be home) wait until the evening and deliver it then.

unsuspecting homeowner opens the door and takes the package. if their smart, the police put some kind of transmitting device in the package so they know that the person has opened it and removed some of the contents. this makes it much more difficult for the person to claim they did not intend to take possession of whatever was in the package.

if the police don't wait until the package is opened and contents removed, they are hurting the prosecution...unless they have enough other evidence.

of course, an actual drug dealer who really did intend to get the package and really did open it and remove the contents might very well make the (false) statement that he did not open the package and did not know what was in it.

i am not at all saying what did or did not happen in the case. just saying that, if the police in fact did not wait for the package to be opened (and hopefully contents removed), imho, they made a mistake, and the courts should not allow the package and its contents as evidence.