Radley Balko writes in Reasonabout P.G. County Sheriff Michael Jackson. He’s the guy who, among other things, led and defended the police actions in the set up and raid of Mayor Calvo.
Tag: calvo
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The Day the Police Came Crashing Through His Door
In the Washington Post, Cheye Calvo, the mayor of Berwyn Heights, MD, writes about his experience:
I remember thinking, as I kneeled at gunpoint with my hands bound on my living room floor, that there had been a terrible, terrible mistake.
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In the words of Prince George’s County Sheriff Michael Jackson, whose deputies carried out the assault, “the guys did what they were supposed to do” — acknowledging, almost as an afterthought, that terrorizing innocent citizens in Prince George’s is standard fare. The only difference this time seems to be that the victim was a clean-cut white mayor with community support, resources and a story to tell the media.What confounds me is the unmitigated refusal of county leaders to challenge law enforcement and to demand better — as if civil rights are somehow rendered secondary by the war on drugs.
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As an imperfect elected official myself, I can understand a mistake — even a terrible one. But a pattern and practice of police abuse treated with utter indifference rips at the fabric of our social compact and virtually guarantees more of the same.You know what they say: a liberal is a conservative who’s been raided (actually I just made that one up).
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P.G. County Sheriff Clears Itself In Calvo Raid
Imagine that.
The Agitator pretty much sums it up.
And here’s the story in the Washington Post.
The best line is: “In the sense that we kept these drugs from reaching our streets, this operation was a success.” But, uh, you already had the drugs, remember? Then instead of taking them off the streets you gave them to the Calvos.
They really have no shame.
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Special delivery
If you want to keep a bad drug raid from hitting the papers, I guess you shouldn’t do it to prominent white folk (see picture).Doug Donovan in the Baltimore Sun reports:
[The Mayor of Berwyn Hights, Prince George County, Maryland] Calvo’s home was raided by the county Sheriff’s Office SWAT team and narcotics officers after a package of marijuana addressed to the house was seized. Police obtained a search warrant and officers broke down their door and shot and killed the family’s two black Labrador retrievers, Payton and Chase.
But arrests this week of two men involved in a marijuana smuggling ring that allegedly delivers packages of the drug to unsuspecting homes appears to indicate that Calvo was not involved in any illegal activity.
A while back I wrote: “Just because this guy is mayor, does not mean he is not a drug dealer. Maybe he is. Maybe not. Maybe his wife is. Maybe not. I don’t know. I don’t care!”I’ve always told people that can’t be illegal to receive drugs in the mail, because if it were, why not just send drugs to all your enemies. I made the mistake of applying logic to the war on drugs.
Now seems clear that this mayor is not a drug dealer. And you know what, despite what I wrote earlier, it does matter and I do care. It’s wrong for police to bust down your front door when nobody’s life is in danger. It’s bad enough to do so if you do have drugs. But to do so when you don’t have drugs is far worse.
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War On Drugs: 2. Dogs: 0
This is crazy. I hate the war on drugs.
Here’s part of the storyin the 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.
Just because this guy is mayor, does not mean he is not a drug dealer. Maybe he is. Maybe not. Maybe his wife is. Maybe not. I don’t know.
I don’t care!
Here is what bothers me (and this doesn’t even include 2 shot dogs):
Fed Ex gets a package filled with marijuana. Dog sniffs it. Police notified. I got no problem there.
But then the police take over and deliver the drugs to the door?! And then they wait to bust down the door? Why didn’t they just take the drugs? Oh, because they wanted an arrest. But they didn’t make an arrest!Why didn’t they just ring the doorbell? Because thanks to prohibition and the war on drugs, police are allowed to bust down the door of your home.
I just doesn’t make sense. The police delivered the drugs!!!
Maybe we should all send drugs to our enemies.
Kudos to the local police for pointing out: “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.”
The whole story can be read here. It’s worth it.
p.s. I do like the quote: “We’re not in the habit of going to homes and shooting peoples’ dogs…. If we were, there would be a lot more dead dogs around the county.”