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.

[Natchez Hawk]

Give the mayor his weed back, apologize and pay for shooting his dogs, and get back to guarding the coffee shop. Enough with this police mischief.

[Nate505]

Can anyone who typically defends this garbage tell me why a SWAT raid was necessary here?

I know nothing about the town, but according to the wikipedia article it seems like a small town that isn’t exactly some sort of giant run down ghetto (the median income is about $65k a year). Do they really think the mayor of a town like this is going to be armed to the hilt? Couldn’t a regular warrant done the job?

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

Jeez...what kind of cretin shoots big lovable Labs!

[calex59]

Sounds to me like a setup, or frame if you will. Why would anyone have MJ mailed to their home especially such a large package, and the most important part, how did the police find out about it?

[faloi]

"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."

"Sometimes they have cats, or fish," Ellis continued.

[Nate505]

What’s your issue, the fact that one of your own didn’t manage to take out the rest of the guy’s family? It is a shame that the SWAT guys couldn’t test our their shiny new toys even further.

[rhombus]

The militarization of our police forces marches on and people here defend it to the nail even.

I think there's only selective support. Since drugs are involved, many won't object. Now if it were about sending a boy back to Cuba... then of course you'd have all sorts of people objecting to the "militarization" you speak about.

[DJ MacWoW]

If I understood the article correctly, they weren’t even the local cops. I may be wrong.

[thefactor]

that story was from minneapolis. i was flabbergasted by that one.

i am probably the biggest cop-apologist around here (because i am one) but could not justify that story. i will say that SWAT guys are simply the entry teams and are not responsible for the actual intel that leads to an entry.

that is up to the detectives/bosses who oversee the informants. they messed up big time.

[Balding_Eagle]

I don’t like the idea of the dogs being shot, but if it’s going to happen, I definately want it to happen to the Mayor, and other governement officials.

[JLS]

Yep let officials suffer from this and maybe we shall see an end to it.

[DJ MacWoW]

Especially when one is hightailing it the OTHER way. Geeze!

[commonguymd]

Curious why you seem to support the militarization of our police forces? Was it a setup and why shoot a retreating pet? Because these morons can? These stupid moves cost ME money when people sue. idiots.

[areukiddingme1]

“32-pound package of marijuana that had been delivered to his doorstep”

It was for recreational use.../s

[Lokibob]

“32 pounds is a hell of a lot of weed to waste in a setup.”

Unless 40 lbs are missing from the police evidence locker.

.....Bob

[thefactor]

way to answer a question with a question. but i wasn't talking to you.

i wonder if you would feel differently if these drug dealers sold to someone in your family.

you'd be saying "where were the cops?"

or maybe you'd take a toke. i don't know.

[calex59]

Yeah, 32 pounds of pot showing up on your doorstep will make people think that of you. That’s a little more than a personal use amount. I’m not keen on the trend of cops killing dogs in raids, though is it too much to ask that the WaPost determine the breed(s) of the dogs involved? It’s one thing if they were confronted with snarling rotties, another if a pair of couch potato Basset Hounds.

I don't care what kind of dogs they were, too bad these terrorist calling themselves police officers were chewed to shreds. They break into someone's home, with a no knock warrant, which is clearly unconstitutional, and expect the dogs to come up to them licking their hands? My dog, which is a black lab, would try to attack them also. This raid was over the top, like most drug raids are.

This guy could have been served a warrant at his door, the way it is supposed to be done, without any dog killing or other violence.

We have to put a stop to these swat type units conducting these types of operations, they have had no impact on drug use but they have made many innocent people victims of our government.

Even if this guy is guilty, and I don't think he is, it stinks to high heaven, this raid was over the top.

[Moonman62]

My impression from the article is that the cops were tipped off and the house was under surveillance.

[rhombus]

I know nothing about the town, but according to the wikipedia article it seems like a small town that isn’t exactly some sort of giant run down ghetto (the median income is about $65k a year).

It's pretty urban DC.

[DJ MacWoW]

It isn’t proven that they ARE drug dealers. Both husband and wife are in politics. It’s entirely possible that it’s a setup. Who orders pot in the mail?