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

Washington Post ^ | July 31, 2008 | Aaron C. Davis

[Mr. Mojo]

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.

[patton]

I wonder if the Mayor will intoduce legislation to outlaw SWAT raids.

[rhombus]

Who says it was wasted? Cops can use the same weed next time they want to set someone up, or they can sell it, or smoke it. It's their weed, they can do whatever they want with it.

If... your theory is correct.

[An Old Man]

He is a TROLL!

by thefactor (contributing nothing of value to threads since 2001...)

[TalonDJ]

no i called it a good raid because they got what they were looking for and no one was hurt.

But they didn't. They already HAD the package and the were trying to get some criminals, some dealers. They did not get those. Did they get information on those people? Probably no more than they could have gotten by asking nicely or googling the guy. Looks to me like they have nothing at all to show for two dead dogs. Nothing they did not have at the moment that drug dog snuffed out the package. I call that abject failure. If they are so worried about peoples pets they can put on some damn kevlar pants and grow some testicles. Anyone that would shoot a fleeing Labrador does not have balls worth defending in the first place. The difference between police in a free country and Gestapo tactics are whether or not the police are considered better and more important than those they are trying to protect. If the safety of the cops is considered less important than the lives an property of the citizens then this is no longer a free country.

Did you know that in ancient Rome they were not allowed to put chains (handcuffs) on a citizen even when arresting them? Because a citizen was not to be treated as a slave. Even if they had committed a crime. They could take them to jail at sword point or even shoot them with arrows if they ran but they could not clap them in chains. The right of a citizen to not be treated as subhuman was more important than making some guards jobs easier.

I am an avid shooter and a NRA trained firearms instructor. I take my firearms safety very seriously. I do not in anyway consider a few pounds of a drug worth pointing automatic weapons at people and discharging those weapons in their home. That is deadly force and is not proportionate to the suspected crime and level of immediate risk to the community.

[thefactor]

i appreciate that. and EMT is one job i would never do! way too much awfulness for an absolute thankless job.

there are a lot of factors at work here. many do not think weed should be illegal. so right off the bat everything about this story is wrong in their eyes.

then you have the people who question the tactics. which i have done as well, many times.

i think my major disconnect is that i have been on the other side of a door that i have to go through with zero idea of what is waiting for me. i'm no roided up rambo, but every cop who handles a radio job has been there.

there are plenty of guys on my job who get a rush out of this type of stuff. but rest assured they are swiftly booted from entry teams. there is no room for rambos. these small town depts seem to have the rambo philosophy as their driving force, however. and that's too bad because it does not represent policing as a whole. but this stuff is what you read about.

again, i see a need for the raid, but perhaps not the entry they chose. but i do not know what kind of intel they had and i will not 2nd guess them. so people call me a boot-licking thug apologist. thats fine. i know i'm not.

[DJ MacWoW]

You are certainly allowed your opinion.

[monday]

“”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.”

...However we do enjoy shooting family pets occasionally, as a special treat. “ he added.

[thefactor]

i think as this story plays out we will find out a lot of info regarding this family. as another poster opined, possibly gang-related or the middle-man for a drug ring.

or they could be pawns. i will be interested to know.

[Ol' Dan Tucker]

it was a drug dog in arizona who smelled the package. so the whole 3rd party set-up thing is pretty much a non-issue.

No, the cops said a drug dog smelled the package. As you wrote earlier, the swat team doesn't care whether the intel is accurate or not. They only follow orders. They didn't even know it was the mayor's house.

i was referring to other no-knocks that rely on info from less than church-going individuals.

Yes, and despite the fact that these individuals aren't exactly honest, it doesn't stop the cops from excuting a raid without a follow-up investigation to determine the veracity of the info they've received. The snitch says there's drugs in that house and the swat team raids that house, no questions asked.

and i was not monday morning QB'ing. i was just stating the facts, not interpreting them and 2nd guessing them.

You said there was criminality going on in the house. From what source, other than the news media, did you derive this information? Where's the proof the residents knew what was in the package or if they were even expecting a package? Where's the proof they were dealing and/or had dealt in the past?

HA! that's funny. i'd love to introduce you to some of the people who would be stopping by to purchase their drugs, and casing your house as they did it. you're a riot.

I wouldn't trust them any more or less than I'd trust any cop. They can case it all they want. If they try to enter, then we'll settle it. Afterward, I'll call the cops to come pick up the body and write up their reports.

and i speak german.

So did the Nazis. Coincidence? Maybe? Maybe not.

[TalonDJ]

There are way too many ‘roided up Rambos out there, and frankly, I’m a lot more scared of them than I am a stadium full of potheads.

Pothead kicks in your door = blam blam blam and the cops tell you nice shooting.

No knock raid kicks in your door because they can't read an address = blam * 200 and you am either dead or going to jail for a long time. Or you just get a shrug, an "oops" and a "you better wipe up that dog before it starts to leave a stain"

Yeah, the pothead is safer.

[monday]

“show me where it says retreating pet, please.”

“and then his 4-year-old dog, Chase, also a black Lab, as the dog ran into a back room.”

[PLMerite]

“...I definately want it to happen to the Mayor, and other governement officials.”

Berwyn Heights is a small town sandwiched in between/near Greenbelt, College Park, Hyattsville, Beltsville, etc. I doubt that there’s much byzantine politics going on there.

As far as the pot goes, maybe someone confused the purpose of their organization, “SEED” ?

[TalonDJ]

From what source, other than the news media, did you derive this information?

What are you thinking questioning him? He is a cop and that is all the info he needs to kick in your door and shoot your dog.

[thefactor]

nice quote from henry ford on your page.

any other friends of hitler you wish to throw out there? your credibility is shot, IMHO.

[Ol' Dan Tucker]

What are you thinking questioning him? He is a cop and that is all the info he needs to kick in your door and shoot your dog.

Silly me.

[thefactor]

god that was hundreds of posts ago. catch up, sparky!

[savedbygrace]

no one was hurt

Except for the two dogs, and the hearts of the family because their dogs were killed.

[monday]

“if the mayor was upstairs at the time of the raid, how would he know what his dog was doing upon the teams entry?”

“Walking through his house yesterday, Calvo pointed out a bullet hole in the drywall where the younger dog had been shot.”

[PLMerite]

“But then they wouldn’t get to play with their toys, would they?”

This reminds me of the idiot show “Scare Factor.” One day they’re going to pull a stunt on someone who’s armed and get the surprise of *their* lives.

[thefactor]

so tell me: how does a bullet hole tell you whether a dog was running towards you or away from you? unless there is a new bullet that shoots around corners.

now show me the entry and exit wounds on the dog and we'll talk.