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OPINION

America’s Troubled House

A botched police raid that terrorized an innocent family says a lot about the state of mind in the U.S.A. today.

By Patti Davis | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Aug 13, 2008 | Updated: 12:20  p.m. ET Aug 13, 2008

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  • Posted By: oakleafmold @ 10/29/2008 3:24:58 PM

    Comment: A quick search of the internet reveals hundreds upon hundreds of similar cases--from assault victims strip-searched and bloodied by power-mad deputies (Stark County, OH) to a man beaten to death and set afire by cop-thrown grenades. An interesting resource appears here: http://www.cato.org/raidmap/index.php?type=1 The sheer numbers here are astounding, and don't include the countless traffic stops gone bad. Invariably, these cases result in dismissed charges, probably for a variety of reasons, such as the respect many of us are taught to have for police as well as the very reasonable fear of reprisal. Making a police officer angry or vengeful is a very, very bad thing. Yes, mistakes happen, occasionally to good cops; but most of these incidents are rooted in arrogance, ignorance, or plain half-assed performance. This isn't surprising, since police face virtually no reppercussions for their actions. Invariably, all but the most egregious errors, the most heinous misbehavior, are dismissed. Until police are held accountable and face serious castigation events like these will happen again and again.

  • Posted By: shay1 @ 08/29/2008 2:48:19 PM

    Comment: If Ms. Davis or any other person in this country believes that this is a rare occurrance they are sadly mistaken and badly informed. This goes on all the time, innocent people or minor offenders are killed and/or maimed
    in these unjustified raids and the police are usually always exonerated when citizens seek redress. While I am in agreement with what the main thrust of Ms. Davis's article is.......this is not ONE incident. Do some research, Ms. Davis, find out what is really going on with the misuse of SWAT Teams in this country today .....I believed you will be horrified at what you find!

  • Posted By: sieg6529 @ 08/29/2008 9:37:18 AM

    Comment: Republicans, listen to the blood child of your most beloved modern president.

  • Posted By: ghostmasseur @ 08/28/2008 9:55:43 AM

    Comment: Skins,

    Actually she is not taking just this one incident. This type of thing happens all around the countyr. That being said, most of law enforcement is skilled and careful. But these types fo thigns are o the rise as oppsoed to the decline. Yes, they have occurred int eh past, but now it seems that some members of law enforcement are feeling a right to exceed their job and authority.

    Also, unfortuantley, given the track record of the PG Police and Sheriff it is unlikely that they will learn anything except to fortify their "them versus us" mentality.

  • Posted By: skins28 @ 08/27/2008 9:56:30 AM

    Comment: To take one incident and profile all of law enforcements actions into a group is unfair. How about all the operations law enforcement does everyday nation wide that are a success. I don't see Patti davis writing about those days or operations. Government officials are immune from doing illegal activities. Wake up! This was an unfortunate mistake and hopefully a strong lesson has been learned by the officers that were involved. The degree in which they took action was excessive given the drug involved. They should have contacted the locals and did some research on the occupants of the home before they executed this operation. This to me sounds like inexperience and not doing their homework. Patti davis needs to calm down and stop screaming from the bell tower that the British are coming. God Bless!

  • Posted By: epc781 @ 08/22/2008 1:17:56 PM

    Comment: Lets not forget that Prince Georges's county is a notriously troubled area. Plenty of police officers have been killed while conducting legitimate raids, so they take their safety seriously. These cases are isolated when you look at the bigger picture. Since the police where negligent in this case, some sort of compensation needs to be awarded. If marijuana was decriminalized this would have never happened, and our tax payer dollars can go to fighting prince george's county and washington dc's crack problem.

  • Posted By: epc781 @ 08/22/2008 1:12:16 PM

    Comment: Lets not forget that Prince Georges county is a pretty grimy place. Law enforcement officers have frequently been shot and killed while conducting legitimate raids. Because the police are clearly negligent in this case some sort of compensation needs to be awarded to the mayor's family, but these cases are not happening on a widespread basis, and the police officers are just trying to clean up the streets. If marijuana was decriminalized this would have never happened.

  • Posted By: boatguy @ 08/21/2008 8:02:58 PM

    Comment: READ the law, file the case, you can write a pro se complaint in pencil on a napkin. There is no excuse for these atrocious jack-booted thug tactics. Google "Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents, 403 U.S. 388 (1971)[1], a case in which the United States Supreme Court ruled that an implied cause of action existed for an individual whose Fourth Amendment freedom from unreasonable search and seizures had been violated by federal agents. The victim of such a deprivation could sue for the violation of the Amendment itself, despite the lack of any federal statute authorizing such a suit. The existence of a remedy for the violation was implied from the importance of the right violated."

  • Posted By: 4russally @ 08/21/2008 7:06:58 PM

    Comment: The Bill of Rights in Berwyn Heights

    It has been 220 years since our nation???s founders proclaimed the Bill of Rights. They would be disappointed with what we have done with their legacy. By its very nature, the war on drugs is a war on the Bill of Rights. That was evident in Berwyn Heights, Maryland, on July 29.
    Prior to the war on drugs, police officers executed search warrants wearing readily recognizable uniforms. They knocked on the front door, announced their presence and purpose and waited. Only if it was clear that someone was refusing to open the door or no one was home did they force entry.
    Today police executing narcotic search warrants are dressed in black SWAT uniforms and wearing ski masks. The officers look more like military commandos or street gangs than police sworn to protect and serve. Without warning, they set off stun and flash grenades, break out windows, knock down doors and burst in with automatic weapons at the ready.
    As many as 40,000 such raids occur each year in the U.S. These raids have resulted in hundreds of needless deaths and injuries, not only to drug offenders, but to bystanders, children, police officers and suspects later found to be innocent.
    In Berwyn Heights police used similar tactics without any reasonable prior investigation of the suspect. A simple background check would have revealed that the Calvos had no prior involvement with drugs, violence or firearms.
    After observing Mr. Calvo place a suspect package in his home, and then take his dogs for a walk, the police could have detained him for questioning. There was no need to storm the home. No one is going to immediately destroy 32 pounds of marijuana.
    This was not a high risk search warrant. This was a dangerous situation because the police were uniformed, equipped, trained and expected to act as if they were at war with the suspects.
    The Chief of Prince George???s County says the Calvos were ???most likely???innocent victims???. The nation shrugs and the Calvos and their two, now deceased, pet dogs are chalked up as collateral damages in this war.
    Milton Friedman said in 1990 that ???Every friend of freedom . . . must be as revolted as I am by the prospect of turning the U.S. into an armed camp, by the vision of jails filled with casual drug users and of an army of enforcers empowered to invade the liberty of citizens on slight evidence.??? His nightmare became a reality in Prince George???s County.
    Since the war on drugs began, drugs are cheaper, stronger and more plentiful. There is more police corruption. Our prisons are crowded with inmates convicted of simple possession. And we are killing innocent civilians at an alarming rate. It is time for friends of freedom to admit, as we did with alcohol prohibition, that the war on drugs is a failed policy.
    Russ Jones

  • Posted By: Lucid1 @ 08/21/2008 7:06:18 PM

    Comment: it won't be long before we have to take our guns to the streets. deal some of these rotten cops some serious pain. i'm ready!!!

  • Posted By: veeve @ 08/21/2008 4:13:54 PM

    Comment: What about the poor 88 year old grandmother in GA? The cops shot her dead too.

  • Posted By: overclocker @ 08/21/2008 9:50:12 AM

    Comment: Frightening. The other oart of the story: So many folks are concerned about myths, tribalism and perceived slights agains the current "administration" than they are about the sad state of the Fourth Amendment, accountability, and failed drug enforcement policy. And where are the real conservatives?

  • Posted By: Newsweek is Unhinged @ 08/21/2008 9:11:41 AM

    Comment: So let me get this straight... Democrat administrations use tanks against the American people, burn down entire compounds with people inside, and raid homes in the dark of night to steal children away from their families....and we should be afraid of Bush and Republicans who had nothing to do with this?? Seriously, Newsweek, you should seek help.

    R

    AND

    • Posted By: Lucid1 @ 08/21/2008 7:02:13 PM

      Comment: unhinged are you retarded? what do todays atrocities against american citizens have to do with anyone except bush?

      • Posted By: dano4163 @ 08/22/2008 9:50:05 AM

        Comment: Lucid1 are u retarded? What about Bill Clinton and Janet Reno? Remember Ruby Ridge or how about Waco?

        • Posted By: Lucid1 @ 08/22/2008 10:51:17 AM

          Comment: dana janet reno was george sr.'s attorney general and waco also happened on george sr watch....where have you been? the reagan bush regimes have completely destroyed this country. they are the worst thing that ever happened to this once great country...now it's nothing but a police state where the police deal the drugs wake up a little DUH

          • Posted By: dano4163 @ 08/24/2008 1:58:47 PM

            Comment: Lucid1, Janet reno was Bill Clintons A.G. Bill Clinton was sworn into office on Jan. 20, 1993. Janet Reno was sworn into office on March 11, 1993. The Waco Massacre was from Feb 28, - April 19, 1993. She had FULL control of the ATF when they burned the Branch Davidians alive. We could argue stuff like this all day but at the end of the day it all boils down to no matter whos in charge we are on the edge of living in a police state. The Gooberment wants you to be totally dependant on them for everything. Because if you're depent on them you need them and that gives them more excuses to regulate and control every part of your life. And if you step out of line .....well then you know what happens.

  • Posted By: Newsweek is Unhinged @ 08/21/2008 8:36:08 AM

    Comment: LOCAL DEPUTIES BOTCH RAID, NEWSWEEK BLAMES....BUSH!

    Holy cow Newsweek, you need therapy!

  • Posted By: bobhoskins @ 08/20/2008 11:39:11 PM

    Comment: Instead of just talking about this here, send Chief Melvin High an email (Police_CustomerService@co.pg.md.us) and Sheriff Jackson an email (sheriffinfo@co.pg.md.us). Or call them at (301) 883-7000 (Jackson) or 301-333-4000 (High). Let them know how you feel about their abusive and vicious tactics. Those dogs are dead for absolutely no reason and these scumbags need to be held accountable for what they did. Nobody deserves to have this happen to them. Nobody!

  • Posted By: Gerald Fnord @ 08/20/2008 7:39:15 PM

    Comment: I put it to you that the beginning of this lies in believing that these outrages are deserved by people who <i>are</i> in fact using drugs not approved-of by the government. When we let this sort of thing happen to "the bad people", we are acting against our own best interests---all it takes for you to become a bad person is the stroke of a president or governor's pen, or the gleam in a police officer's eye or a suspicion in his gut.





  • Posted By: ingvy @ 08/20/2008 6:58:26 PM

    Comment: "Oh pleeeze! As far as the cops knew these were drug dealers. They even had drugs delivered that the husband BROUGHT INTO THE HOUSE. So technically, THEY ARE GUILTY OF POSSESSION! The dogs were shot for good reason; they could have been used to attack officres. Stop the crying and drama already. The guy, his wife and mother-in-law are just building a case for some liberal jury to award them millions. As was recently noted: We are a nation of WHINERS!"

    Ah yes, guilty until proven innocent. We fought a revolution to rid ourselves of this crap. Perhaps it???s time to do it again. The US Federal Government IS A THREAT and should be dealt with accordingly.

    • Posted By: Lucid1 @ 08/21/2008 7:04:35 PM

      Comment: ingvy don't worry whiner....your day is coming buddy. and we won't listen to you either wah wah

  • Posted By: datacine @ 08/20/2008 6:39:44 PM

    Comment: Scared yet?
    Go to wikipedia and search Donald P Scott.
    Asset forfeiture as a motive for police action.

  • Posted By: ingvy @ 08/20/2008 6:32:39 PM

    Comment: Just another example of the creeping police state we live under. When this type of thing happens, it should be perfectly legal to exercise one's Second Amendment rights on the police.


  • Posted By: mgreb @ 08/20/2008 5:48:00 PM

    Comment: As long as police are effectively immune from prosecution for official misconduct, stuff like this will happen. Here in Texas it is damn near imposable to fire bad cops and make it stick.

  • Posted By: DianeGalley @ 08/19/2008 4:42:28 PM

    Comment: My heart goes out to the Calvo family, shame on those officers treating them like that, and then shooting the family pets too....good grief....didn't ANYONE check to see whose home this was before going there?
    And the Chief would not even offer an apology....I'm so glad I live in Canada where this type of raid is not allowed....as an animal lover I am sickened at what they did to these lovely dogs....I hope one day God can forgive Chief High, as I never will. Peace & Love.... Di Galley, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

  • Posted By: dano4163 @ 08/19/2008 8:12:43 AM

    Comment: Its no wonder that nobody trusts the cops anymore. When they run around like jack booted nazi thugs terrorizing innocent people, shooting family pets, a black lab is about as vicious as a hampster. When it come to talking to the cops always remember the 5 magic words to say to them " I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY"

  • Posted By: PREDICTIONET @ 08/18/2008 10:15:03 PM

    Comment:
    TRY WWW.PREDICTIONET.COM

  • Posted By: sampeters @ 08/18/2008 3:23:15 AM

    Comment: This is not tragic it is frightening. This is very near;y what has just happened in Georgia. People being brutalized by uncontrolled authority with no regard for civil law. Yes I am all for homeland security but there has to be some justification for total disregard for rights. These authorities need to be help responsible and prosecuted for what they did. Office does not mean unlimited authority.

  • Posted By: griffinmichael @ 08/17/2008 9:38:51 PM

    Comment: Nice thing about being Mayor--he's in better position than most to seek the heads of the persons responsible.

  • Posted By: reader666 @ 08/17/2008 5:48:37 PM

    Comment: Who Knew, Michael Jackson is a Sheriff? I thought he was a wealthy Hollywood Pedophile.

  • Posted By: LucyLu @ 08/17/2008 3:10:18 PM

    Comment: You can tell the author has never worked, lived, or BEEN in Prince George's county. There is a valid reason the police act as they do. I can find no fault with the police, just feel sorry for the unfortunates that were drawn into the illegal activity of drug creeps.

    • Posted By: ghostmasseur @ 08/18/2008 9:21:12 AM

      Comment: LucyLu,

      I live in Montgomery County (right next door), and am in PG County quite a bit.

      There is no way that any intelligent person could say that there is a valid reason the police acted the way they did.

      Nothing, repeat, NOTHING excuses their criminal and incompetent actions. They have a history of this type of thuggish behavior and should be held criminally and civilly accountable.

    • Posted By: utchat @ 08/17/2008 6:20:37 PM

      Comment: How can you find "no fault" with police shooting a dog that's running away? Or handcuffing their mother-in-law on the floor next to the bleeding body of a dog?

  • Posted By: deMuse @ 08/17/2008 12:24:22 PM

    Comment: This is more or less how it started in in Germany in 1930 or so. A righteous government with too much power, a hushed public, hushed press, thugs in uniform. It is a shame and grave danger to all of us, Sheriff Michael A. Jackson cannot find it in himself to say sorry, we made a mistake. Instead we are sorry he ever got where he is, in public trust. Some one please take that uniform off his back.

  • Posted By: deMuse @ 08/17/2008 12:23:21 PM

    Comment: This is more or less how it started in in Germany in 1930 or so. A righteous government with too much power, a hushed public, hushed press, thugs in uniform. It is a shame and grave danger to all of us, Sheriff Michael A. Jackson cannot find it in himself to say sorry, we made a mistake. Instead we are sorry he ever got where he is, in public trust. Some one please take that uniform off his back.

  • Posted By: getzel @ 08/16/2008 11:47:29 PM

    Comment: Plain clothed police creating mayhem and arresting those in their way has been going on for thirty years in the USA. The police are not even embarrassed or concerned; as is plain from this rare high profile run over: the America you delude yourself exists has long been gone. The draft is scheduled to return in 2009, protests have been outlawed, peaceful assembly a felony. In a few days: the Domoquack convention will see peaceful protestors herded to jail to the applause of the American people and press. The CHANGE from plain clothes to army uniforms is just around the corner. Lets have a nice long lasting war and sell lottttssss of weapons! I would rather see Paris Hilton president than either of these two non representatives of the American people: Obumer!

  • Posted By: utchat @ 08/16/2008 7:56:20 PM

    Comment: "Prince George's official county Web site defines itself as 'a county of livable communities.'"

    As a former resident of Berwyn Heights, Md., there's a reason my girlfriend and I always crack up over the whole "livable communities" PR drivel. PG County is considered one of the most unsafe, crime-ridden counties in Maryland. We're just disgusted that PG County police take hours to respond to calls of a gun shot (true story, heard it straight from the mouth of a PG business owner), yet they're ready to destroy the lives of innocent citizens... over marijuana? Prince George's County (and this country) need to get their priorities straight.

  • Posted By: jeanvaljean @ 08/16/2008 2:29:38 PM

    Comment: I daresay Chief High and Sheriff Jackson have not had the benefit of any formal training in the law let alone having an education beyond High School. Don't they possess the common decency to resign on the spot?

    • Posted By: caroline @ 08/17/2008 8:01:02 AM

      Comment: Go to Sheriff Michael A. Jackson's web page and you'll find he served in the Marine reserves for several years and has a degree in electrical engineering from some university I've never heard of. The Sheriff's position in PG County is elected. Michael A. Jackson is also the President of the Maryland Sheriff's Association. He was a politically ambitious man.. Maybe that degree in electrical engineering will come in handy in his future

      • Posted By: thrasher32 @ 08/18/2008 6:27:24 PM

        Comment: Wow, the Marine RESERVES, and an electrical engineering degree. Is that all it takes to become Sherriff?I would think a degree in criminal justice might come in handy.

  • Posted By: observer101 @ 08/16/2008 11:11:34 AM

    Comment: Its sad and shouldnt have happened...But then again it couldnt have happened to a better person from the average citizens stand point...This is happening all the time, to alot of ppl. Now that it happened to a politician, and is getting some airtime, we will hopefully some changes in how these things are executed...Sad to say in situations where the police and state officials are made to look like incompetent buffoons makes me feel good inside...They stuttered through the Waco debacle, mishandled Hurricane Katrina type disaters, looked like fools in the FLDS raid...This should be a wakeup call for Americans to take back whats theirs and stop letting these "lawmakers", city, state and fed government monkeys run our lives like they do...WE the citizens run them they arent supposed to run us like they are doing...All parties of politics are involved in the "run amuck" behavior that we are experiencing..They have no real interest in whats right for us, just how many votes FOR ANYTHING they can rack up against the opposite party...Its just a matter of time before a majority of Americans get to enjoy what this mayor endured if we dont put a cap on what these govs can get away with.

  • Posted By: sipeswoman @ 08/16/2008 7:45:53 AM

    Comment: Until a drug dealer uses your address to pick up drug deliveries (nice safe suburbs with packages left on the porch are the perfoect place) this can be someone else's problems. It could happen to any of us. I had a friend who was born in this county and when she converted to Islam she changed her name (in the this same county), a DHS tip had feds knocking down her door with weapons on a SUnday mroing demanding her immigration papers. She was born here, has lived here all her life, changed her name leagaly at the same county courhouse. She had to endure poeple ripping apart her house and screaming at her, not believing something they should have checked before they beat down her door. Can you prove your citizensip with no notice? Will this become a totalitarian state where we all have to carry our papers? No one bothers to check any facts before they knock down a door. Now business people are having their computers confiscated on international business trips without probable cause and kept for months. It is now guilty first, prove you are innocent later. When they come for you, who will defend you?

  • Posted By: Now I've Seen It All @ 08/15/2008 9:39:06 PM

    Comment: Oh pleeeze! As far as the cops knew these were drug dealers. They even had drugs delivered that the husband BROUGHT INTO THE HOUSE. So technically, THEY ARE GUILTY OF POSSESSION! The dogs were shot for good reason; they could have been used to attack officres. Stop the crying and drama already. The guy, his wife and mother-in-law are just building a case for some liberal jury to award them millions. As was recently noted: We are a nation of WHINERS!

    • Posted By: thrasher32 @ 08/18/2008 6:29:47 PM

      Comment: That's conservative thiking for you. But if it was YOUR dogs getting shot you'd be crying like a little girl. Do us all a favor and stop voting.

    • Posted By: ghostmasseur @ 08/16/2008 11:22:59 AM

      Comment: "As far as the cops knew these were drug dealers."

      Had they done even a littel bit of background intel they would have known differently.

      "They even had drugs delivered that the husband BROUGHT INTO THE HOUSE."
      The husband brought an unkown content package into the house. No intent.

      "So technically, THEY ARE GUILTY OF POSSESSION!"
      Actually they are not guilty IF they were unaware of the contents of the package and had no reason to believe that it contained drugs. Learn the law.

      " The dogs were shot for good reason; they could have been used to attack officres."
      Not at all. Labs tend not to be aggressive. And again had the police done what they were supposed to do and check with the local [police they would have known the fact that those particular dogs were very freindly. Once again you are wrong in your assertion.

      " Stop the crying and drama already."
      You are a fool.

      " The guy, his wife and mother-in-law are just building a case for some liberal jury to award them millions. "
      Not at all. would you say the same thing if the police had shot two children. Well the dogs were their children. No different.

      "As was recently noted: We are a nation of WHINERS!"
      And most of them are people like you.

    • Posted By: caroline @ 08/16/2008 8:28:04 AM

      Comment: You've got it wrong. The cops (including the Sheriffs dept) knew packages were being sent by drug dealers to innocent persons. The cops had time (they were tracking the package from Arizona) to do a background check on the homeowners. The cops didn't have a "no knock warrant"". The cops lied and said they did. The cxops shot two labs....one running away. The cops (Prince George's County police and Sheriffs Dept) never informed the Berwyn Heights police of the raid. The cops still aren't apologizing. This has happened before. Prince Georges County paid out 2 million dollars last year in lawsuits lost due to "activities" such as this. Prince George's county police are understaffed by at least 200 officers. They pay less and can't attract the best.

      Prince George's county has a drug problem, true. I used to live there. But if the cops are having problems locating the real dealers (duh!!), any ordinary citizen call tell them where they live in the county..

    • Posted By: getzel @ 08/15/2008 11:38:06 PM

      Comment: Or in your case a nation of DUMMIES

  • Posted By: getzel @ 08/15/2008 7:21:19 PM

    Comment: Plain clothed police creating mayhem and arresting those in their way has been going on for thirty years in the USA. The police are not even embarrassed or concerned; as is plain from this rare high profile run over: the America you delude yourself exists has long been gone. The draft is scheduled to return in 2009, protests have been outlawed, peaceful assembly a felony. In a few days: the Domoquack convention will see peaceful protestors herded to jail to the applause of the American people and press. The CHANGE from plain clothes to army uniforms is just around the corner. Lets have a nice long lasting war and sell lottttssss of weapons! I would rather see Paris Hilton president than either of these two non representatives of the American people: Obumer!

  • Posted By: map529 @ 08/15/2008 7:16:25 PM

    Comment: Welcome to George Bush's and the "Christian Conservative's"
    Family Values America. When those of us who cared about justice and civil liberties were (and still are) raising the alarm, those on the Right (including Reagan) shot back that it was either that or be murdered in your bed by thugs. So, now what's the difference? Oh yeah, the thugs have badges and are immune from the law--they are above the law. Yeah, America. Thanks Ronnie, George, George, and the rest of you. As for the average citizen, all of you beer-swilling, NASCAR-watching, high school dropouts--you voted for them, and called anyone with a brain a geek and a nerd, and gave them "swirlies", or "swift-boated" them. A nation of adolescent males--we are so proud.

    • Posted By: thrasher32 @ 08/18/2008 6:30:43 PM

      Comment: You forgot Nixon, but I agree with you 1000%

  • Posted By: joho1111 @ 08/15/2008 5:26:33 PM

    Comment: The supporter sounds more like a soiled "athletic supporter" than a presidentsupporter. Just where have you been for the last seven years? This administration has done more harm to our nation's standing in the world community than all the rest put together.Unless someone in a position to change the direction this country is headed, we will have zero personal freedom , and zero credibility on in the eyes of the rest of the world. We are dangerously close to that now...

  • Posted By: robynmaxine @ 08/15/2008 3:40:35 PM

    Comment: i have to agree with the author on this one. The actions taken by this "law enforcement" team were absolutely inexcusable. It would be one thing if the mayor of this little town had boxes of marijuana delivered to his house on a regular basis as documented by an ongoing investigation. But to just burst into someone's (anyone's) home with little to no cause, is an invasion of privacy and is completely unconstitutional.
    Do we not live in a country where we are supposed to be able to pursue happiness? Can we not have a picket fence, 2.5 kids and dog in a friendly neighborhood?
    What is this country coming to?
    Our next president is going to have a lot of work to do to restore the US to any repectible level of functionality much less regain the support of a people who are losing faith by the minute...including myself.

  • Posted By: reinadelaz @ 08/15/2008 3:15:06 PM

    Comment: The war on drugs is a jobs program for former military unfit to work in the private sector. They are taught that they do not have to respect the law because the ARE the law. A law enforcement officer can do anything he wants as long as he knows how to write the report.

  • Posted By: Bisong @ 08/15/2008 11:21:08 AM

    Comment: What would one expect from the offspring of ancestors who bred human beings as beasts of burden? I am surprised Americans can complain of such behaviour especially as it is the same behaviour they mete and meted out to folks in Iraq, Vietnam, Afghanistan etc even today that slave trade is ostensibly said to have been abolished. It is a good thing for some Americans to feel these things in order to understand what their prey went through and have been going through even today.

  • Posted By: isis5632 @ 08/15/2008 9:11:30 AM

    Comment: 'Or perhaps, if you pay close attention to the plight of the poor, a poverty-riddled neighborhood somewhere in America where drugs and violence define everyday life.'

    Or perhaps? Ever heard of Katlheeen Johnson, the 80+ year old grandmother shot down in Atlanta in a botched drug raid (they even planted drugs on her after to cover their tracks. Or that mother in Ohio who was killed and her one years old finger shot off. Not to mention Sean Bell, who was killed the day before his wedding, what would you do if a bunch od guys in plain clothing jumped in front of your car with guns drawn? This happens in minority communites a lot more ofthen than is recognized, I am sorry about the dogs, by why is this issue only Newsweek worthy now?

  • Posted By: caroline @ 08/14/2008 9:51:27 PM

    Comment: This is an example of bad police work. Dumb and sadistic. PG county has a drug problem (we used to live there). Everyone knows that. The county government is corrupt. Periodically someone (county exec., schools chief, etc. ) is fired over allegations of ...whatever. Still......

    The saddest part is that this mayor lives in an artsy little corner of the county in a modest 1950's home with a wife who is remarkably simple. No drug-fueled bling in this couple. Simple background checks (the police had time to do this) would have indicated the low likelihood this couple being drug dealers.

    As I said ...dumb and crue and lazy.

    Fire them all after a thorough investigation!

    And the person who shot the family dog who was running away....bring back the stocks and public floggings!
    Can't believe the cruelty of shooting two dogs - one running away at that.

  • Posted By: AthenaZ @ 08/14/2008 7:11:01 PM

    Comment: Democrats won't fix this problem. Few politicians in either major party, and CERTAINLY not a President, wants to appear "soft" on drugs. This is something we all need to fight at the local level, because it is there that jurisdictions decide whether or not they want to make using SWAT for narcotics investigations standard policy. The feds only fund it. Please, don't be so deluded that you wait for some rockstar to swoop in and save the day. This is OUR job. If we don't act, we can never hope for politicians to.

    Interested in finding out about botched raids in your community? Visit the website of the CATO Institute (cato.org) and search for "raid map". The sad fact is, the victims aren't always dogs. They've been mothers and fathers and friends and children.

    • Posted By: thrasher32 @ 08/14/2008 7:34:14 PM

      Comment: Dems might not fix it but they'll do a heluuva better job than the monkeys in office now.

      • Posted By: joho1111 @ 08/15/2008 5:37:40 PM

        Comment: I do belive a organ grinder's monkey could do a better job than these "idiots"...i won't use the language that I'm really thinking on this public forum. These people have been and are absolute "scum".

  • Posted By: thrasher32 @ 08/14/2008 5:34:00 PM

    Comment: Umm, where are all the conservative apologists and spin-doctors when an article like this is written? I don't see any Limbaugh-esque posts here defending the police. So where are you all now? How do you like reaping what you have sown???????

  • Posted By: thrasher32 @ 08/14/2008 5:20:49 PM

    Comment: Oh, OH, and all this over MARIJUANA?????? The substance that works better on cancer pain than morphine but is not addictive? The substance that, according to an Federal Adminstrative Judge, is "less toxic than potatoes"???? The substance that has been shown over and over again to effectively treat a number of illnesses and ailments, AND have some cancer-preventing qualities, but is still on Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, as having no medicinal value along with Heroin, LSD, and Ecstacy? Cocaine, Meth, and PCP are schedule II for God's sake, less illegal than Marijuana.

    Not a single Marijuana overdose or death directly caused by Marijuana has ever been recorded. Sure, lots of people get killed and injured dealing marijuana, but that's a side-effect of it's illegality, not Marijuana killing people.

    Yet Marijuana accounts for about 70-80% of our drug-enforcement expenditures each year. Anybody else think those funds could be spent more effectively??

    Nixon's own blue-ribbon conservative task force said that we should legalize Marijuana, but Nixon didn't want to hear it, Marijuana was too useful in law enforcement, as an excuse to bust hippies and ruin their lives. And here we are today.

    ABSOLUTELY LUDICROUS. CHANGE THE MARIJUANA LAWS NOW AND CONCENTRATE ON THE DANGEROUS DRUGS LIKE METH AND CRACK.

  • Posted By: thrasher32 @ 08/14/2008 5:08:20 PM

    Comment: This story is insane. Is this the United States of America?? The police can just charge into your house in the middle of the night, kill your dogs, and victimize your family???? Sounds like something out of Soviet Russia.

    The police in this country need to be curbed. Now. They have too much power and have been trained to be victimizers instead of helping and protecting the citizens. There are too many cops, too many laws, and too much power placed in the hands of people with tiny minds.

    How about we concentrate on violent crime instead of all this other BS that detracts from our safety???

    I will tell you this for certain: if a cop comes into my house and shoots my dog for no good reason, the bloodshed will not stop there.

  • Posted By: terrestrial_man @ 08/14/2008 3:06:10 PM

    Comment: The police did not follow normal procedure in this situation. It would have been easy to do an initial background check on the suspects before taking any action so as to ascertain the comportment of the department in dealing with suspected criminals. especially since the drugs in question was cannabis and not some major hard narcotics or more serious drugs such as meth. This department sounds like it is both improperly trained and instructed on handling such manuvers. The police failed to apologize because of fear of lawsuit. I definiitely see a major lawsuit in the works over this. These cops really need to do their homework and know who their suspects are before putting their heads where their butts belong.

  • Posted By: terrestrial_man @ 08/14/2008 2:59:03 PM

    Comment: The police did not follow normal police procedure in this affair. Normal surveillance would have made an attempt to tie in the home of delivery into the narcotics ring by background searches. This is a no brainer and would only have taken a few minutes to ascertain the residents and to muster up enough background materials to determine the who and the affiliations that the suspects may have had to the illicit operation. I definitely see a significant lawsuit in the future for a police department that has overstepped its mandated authority.

  • Posted By: summer1216 @ 08/14/2008 2:14:01 PM

    Comment: Why are the police EVER allowed to shoot dogs routinely, even if the dogs belonged to actual criminals?? The dogs aren`t committing any crimes. Why is this tolerated? What have we turned into?

    • Posted By: PresidentSupporter @ 08/14/2008 7:21:26 PM

      Comment: Dogs bite and can hurt people. Ever had the pleasure of walking into a house full of pit bulls? Yeah, poor little innocent creatures they are.

      • Posted By: thrasher32 @ 08/14/2008 7:23:22 PM

        Comment: So you wouldn't mind if this happened to you huh? Turn off Limbaugh and O'Reilly, lose the lies, get with reality, and join the human race.

        • Posted By: PresidentSupporter @ 08/15/2008 5:00:51 PM

          Comment: Try breaking down the door to a house and slowly determine what's hostile and what's not. Take your time, I'm sure the criminal will wait until you decide his dog is nice before shooting at you. Brilliant strategy. You wouldn't last through one raid. I can only imagine you trying to do your job with a large dog clinging to your neck.

          • Posted By: thrasher32 @ 08/18/2008 6:33:34 PM

            Comment: Shouldn't you and HolyRoller be in the rec room, it's almost meds time.

          • Posted By: ghostmasseur @ 08/15/2008 6:11:29 PM

            Comment: If they had bothered to do their jobs and get proper intelligence (which was readily available to them) they would have known that the dogs were non-agressive. Sorry but your idea does not wash.

  • Posted By: MaineFrank @ 08/14/2008 12:06:28 PM

    Comment: This is an excellent article--it touches upon many points that have been troubling me. This country is no longer as free as it once was--for so many years people were afraid of communism but the biggest danger to the USA is not that it would become communist but that it would become FASCIST. So many accept these changes over the last 8 years as justified in the same of security but police states and communist states have always been more secure with less crime than the USA--is that the tradeoff we want? And I for one am tired of law enforcement officers even refusing to apologize for blunders that shatter peoples' lives--that has nothing to do with the dangerous job they have. If one makes a tragic miscalculation OWN UP TO IT and aoplogize if necessary; to not take that step only victimizes the VICTIMS further.

    • Posted By: caroline @ 08/15/2008 7:26:08 AM

      Comment: MaineFrank: You are right. I don't know the extent we are becoming a police state but what troubles me is that absolute power, little oversight, bad recruitment have eroded law enforcement in many areas of our country. The county this travesty occurred in - Prince George's county , Md. has had a history going back decades of bad police work., bullying behavior, bad judgment.

      What happened in this little corner of Prince George's county has nothing to do with anything on the national scene, nothing to do with party affiliation. It has everything to do with a bad police (and sherrifs) dept. that probably is poorly trained, and badly staffed.

    • Posted By: C. MacLean @ 08/14/2008 1:14:38 PM

      Comment: If this was an innocent poor family of color in a rundown neighborhood, we wouldn't be having this discussion. Because this was an innocent white family in an upscale neighborhood, we are.

      This had been going on for decades in this country, and goes back to the law-and-order candidacy of the author's father, Ronald Reagan. No-knock warrants started then, and every year after we have spent more and more money on prisons and law enforcement until many state budgets now spend more money on law and order than they do on education or health care.

      And as long as the people we were targeting were "other" - the poor, the non-white - white middle class America has been happy to look the other way. Innocent people get targeted a lot in this country, a lot more than we want to hear about.

      Now we have Homeland Security - one more beaucratic disaster from the Bush administration that we frankly didn't need - didn't we have enough law enforcement bureacracies? - and now, for the first time, everyone's a suspect.

      Absolute power, and all that - this was the predictable and inevitable result of Fear in charge. This won't stop until we, the voters, acknowledge the monster WE have created.

      Only when we have the courage to end the War on Drugs, get the guns off our streets that are in the hands of the criminals by having common sense gun control, and start some dialogue with our adversaries, instead of building bigger bombs, will we finally start feeling like we have some control over our lives.

      Fighting fear is about feeling empowered, not about creating thicker bunkers.

      Home of the brave? More like home of the cowards.

      • Posted By: thrasher32 @ 08/14/2008 5:27:14 PM

        Comment: Amen

  • Posted By: Braes @ 08/14/2008 11:03:33 AM

    Comment: I want our Civil Liberties back and Republicans brought before Military Tribunals.

    • Posted By: PresidentSupporter @ 08/14/2008 7:19:05 PM

      Comment: If you want civil liberties back, why would you be a democrat? Hmmm....

      • Posted By: ghostmasseur @ 08/15/2008 10:32:03 AM

        Comment: Because you cannot get them back with a Republican.

      • Posted By: thrasher32 @ 08/14/2008 7:25:04 PM

        Comment: Congratulations! That's the dumbest thing I've read all year. How many fingers am I holding up?

        • Posted By: PresidentSupporter @ 08/15/2008 4:58:55 PM

          Comment: Do you honestly think Democrats and Republicans differ much at all when it comes to civil liberties? It would've been a great new "civil liberty" had Hillary made it to the Presidency and forced every American to buy into the national healthcare.

  • Posted By: pastor123 @ 08/14/2008 9:31:58 AM

    Comment: theyre has been a petition started to change this inhumane tactic. http://dontshootdog.blogspot.com/ go sign the petition. Hundreds of signatures already., they are looking for a million.

    Im losing respect for police everywhere., Dog bites dont kill, ask ceasar milan. they were labs. They were running

    • Posted By: thrasher32 @ 08/14/2008 7:35:33 PM

      Comment: You're LOSING respect? I'm sorry I lost respect for the police a long time ago. They're just tools of an authoritarian state.

  • Posted By: spencer08 @ 08/14/2008 8:49:59 AM

    Comment: Yes! what happened to the Calvos is unfortunate and should have been handled better. You forget, the police are people too with their own families to think about. If those dogs had gotten loose and killed any of them, we will all been willing to put flowers and feel sorry. Any human police or not, will first react when they are been attacked, some of those reactions may not be just appropriate. We should be lenient with out assassination of the police. I believe some of them are ruthless, but they a few and far in between that should not tarnish the hard work that many do year in year out with very little money.
    Second point, the patriot Act started with the GWB administration. That clearly says law enforcement can break down your doors with "probable cause". There was drug delivered and addressed to the Major's wife. It turned out that she was innocent in all these and the police should have traded a little bit more carefully in their handling of the situation. Third point, the criminals are getting the big guns and the up to date high tech weapons as well...so what are the police to do?

    • Posted By: ghostmasseur @ 08/14/2008 11:17:32 AM

      Comment: Spencer,

      What you fail to understadn is that this is not a single mistake but a way of life and process for the PG Polcie and PG Sheriff's office. Therefore they have NO valid reason. They are just thugs.

      They were NOT beign attacked. THEY were doing the attacking. They were the criminals.

      They should not have treaded more carefully. They should have done their job correctly which they failed to do. They are to follow the law which they did not.

  • Posted By: ScubaGolfJim @ 08/14/2008 7:41:02 AM

    Comment: To JShumo:

    Its already happened like you feared. In Atlanta, a 92 Year-Old Great-Grandmother slaughtered by the Police in a botched raid. Police later convicted of lying to cover up their mistakes. But no MURDER charges...

    Typical of the way the current administration led by Dumbya to scare Americans into giving a Republican president dictator-like powers by voting them into office. Hopefully this will be rectified in January. Just remember... McSame=Dumbya.

    • Posted By: PresidentSupporter @ 08/14/2008 7:17:21 PM

      Comment: Typical of some whiny "nothing is my fault" liberal American's to blame everything that ever goes wrong on a Presidential administration.

      Whether you blame Bush, Clinton, or Thomas Freakin Jefferson for this, you look just as foolish. Move to Canada if you don't like the US, jerk.

      • Posted By: thrasher32 @ 08/14/2008 7:26:21 PM

        Comment: I blame uncaring people like you who cast their vote for fascism instead of Democracy. Boy are you going to be bummed come November.

        • Posted By: PresidentSupporter @ 08/15/2008 4:56:51 PM

          Comment: I always vote Libertarian, which last time I checked is very democratic. But, I support any President in office, Democrat, Republican, doesn't matter. My point is that bashing Presidential administrations for every little thing that goes wrong in the world is idiotic.

          Yes I will be bummed out until a Libertarian takes office. Democrats and Republicans are equally fascist.

          • Posted By: ghostmasseur @ 08/15/2008 6:12:56 PM

            Comment: I only support a President IF he deserves to be supported. This one has done nothing to deserve my support or respect.

  • Posted By: JShumo @ 08/14/2008 12:46:55 AM

    Comment: I wonder what would have happened if the mayor had a gun in his home, heard gunshots and came downstair armed. I think he would be dead, and depending on his shot ,so would a cop who was just caring out an order by his superiors. The sad part is, it is only a matter of time before police bust down the door of someone who does believe in owning a gun, and they wrongly kill a man, then write the report saying they were justified in killing him/her because he or she was defending their family against armed mask men breaking into their home. Only it wont be wrote that way

    • Posted By: thrasher32 @ 08/14/2008 5:29:52 PM

      Comment: Actually, it happens all the time. We just don't hear about it because all of our information is controlled. This story was just too big to contain, and I hope it brings down a lot of cops, they need it. I say if you act like an animal, you should be treated like one. I wonder if the cops who shot those poor dogs felt like big men afterwards?

    • Posted By: jbritt @ 08/14/2008 11:55:59 AM

      Comment: I totally agree. If the police get the wrong address and kick in my door without identifying themselves wearing all black and ski masks toting guns, I'm going for my gun. I'll probably get shot, and if I don't I'll almost certainly go to jail. Stuff like this is why we need to clean house on all of the jack booted thugs while preserving the true civil servants and peace keepers that most police are. The thing that scares me the most about this is not that they got the address wrong and that it could happen to anyone. What scares me most is their apparent attitude of indifference as if they are above the law and can do no wrong.

  • Posted By: phokus @ 08/14/2008 12:19:35 AM

    Comment: Botched Paramilitary Police Raids
    http://www.cato.org/raidmap/

    "If a widespread pattern of [knock-and-announce] violations were shown . . . there would be reason for grave concern."
    ???Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, in Hudson v. Michigan, June 15, 2006.

    "The reality is that this happens all the time in this country and disproportionally in Prince Georges county and most of the people to whom it happens don???t have the community support and the platform to speak out. So I appreciate you paying attention to our condition but I hope you???ll also give attention to those who may not have the same platform and voice that we have." -Berwyn Heights, Maryland Mayor Cheye Calvo

    • Posted By: PSYOP @ 08/14/2008 12:31:53 PM

      Comment: Since when has the Supreme Court ruled in the favor of civil liberty? They, along with the crooked cops need to be held accountable.

      • Posted By: phokus @ 08/14/2008 2:45:43 PM

        Comment: Certain members (Scalia, Roberts, Alito) have made individual liberties subservient to those of the state, others, even Thomas, have not.

        • Posted By: thrasher32 @ 08/14/2008 5:31:18 PM

          Comment: That's why it's important that the Democrats win this election. We can't afford any more conservative, partisan "justices" on the Supreme Court. Everybody needs to remember this in November.

  • Posted By: phokus @ 08/14/2008 12:15:31 AM

    Comment: "While rare, these cases say something about our culture. "

    Unfortunately, they are not rare. Check out the Cato Institute's own botched drug raid map:

    As

    As

  • Posted By: happytravelling @ 08/13/2008 10:37:02 PM

    Comment: What amazes me is the initial reaction from the police that they had a no-knock warrant. The fact that they did not shows the way they will wipe this clean. And I like the way the police chief is outraged that there will be a federal civil rights review. Now he won't just be able to whitewash this away.

  • Posted By: lambcannon @ 08/13/2008 10:25:48 PM

    Comment: The most compelling reason to legalize drugs there is. Naked aggression towards the bill of rights and humanity itself has become normal behavior. Young "cops" raised in an atmosphere where might makes right, and you are always right, is the problem.

    McCain says, "We are all Georgians". I say we are all Beryn

  • Posted By: lambcannon @ 08/13/2008 10:22:57 PM

    Comment: Let's not blame this on the dubious "homeland security."

    These are young cops, trained to be thugs by thugs, who think they are always in the right no matter who gets killed, maimed, humiliated, publically, taser'd, etc. etc.


    Even if you care about individual rights, and who does, this is not justifiable behavior around marijuana. This is hysteria, plain and simple.


  • Posted By: ssn586 @ 08/13/2008 10:10:36 PM

    Comment: Zero-toleranc at work. What a great idea. I say we should abolish homeland security. I blame them more than anyone else.

  • Posted By: natlava @ 08/13/2008 9:52:08 PM

    Comment: I think it's best if we all continue to pretend that we live in a free society, certainly if we raise too many questions we will be tagged as being unpatriotic. Fear of such a label has kept media and politicians silent on almost any issue where our freedoms are squashed in the name of whatever works. Damn 1984 was a funny movie.

  • Posted By: nutgrape @ 08/13/2008 9:42:29 PM

    Comment: The use of no knock warrants has gotten out of control. The police are killing innocent people on a regular basis now. They are doing it because they are afraid. Afraid that if they give warning, one of them might be hurt or killed. All their macho swagger is just for show, they live in fear.
    The only answer is, as always, for the people to rise up and end it. If a group of masked men invade your home with no waring, kill as many of them as possible. Hopefully you can get all of them, as they really don't expect resistance. Then hire a lawyer again oping they are all dead as a dead cop can't testilie.

  • Posted By: techresmgt @ 08/13/2008 9:28:30 PM

    Comment: The terrorists don't have to do one other thing to America; unfortunately we will do the rest to ourselves. Since when do Americans live in fear? I rebuke that entire idea. Man up, people.

  • Posted By: RDVernon @ 08/13/2008 9:10:54 PM

    Comment: America. Love it or leave it. As with an abusive spouse, it's time to say enough is enough. Canada, here I come.

  • Posted By: panhandle @ 08/13/2008 8:03:15 PM

    Comment: Bull Connor is alive and living in Maryland. Everyone involved in that raid except the victims needs to be fined and jailed, including the head of Homeland Security, the DEA, and every Congressman who voted to give those people the right to invade someone's private residence. Russia and Putin have nothing on us. Land of the free, my __s.

    • Posted By: caroline @ 08/15/2008 7:37:16 AM

      Comment: EPanhandle: I sympathize with your sentiment. However, the SWAT team was a rinky-dink county police dept, not state police even , not ATF, not DEA, not Homeland Security. Although it would be nice to blame this on national politicians or policies, this is just good ole PG county with it's inept and corrupt local government doing the damage. This has been going on for decades there.

  • Posted By: PSYOP @ 08/13/2008 7:58:05 PM

    Comment: Great work by Davis Reagan! This article makes the valid point that Americans have traded security for freedom. I especially like the Sherrif's propaganda that "the Calvo's were the victims of drug traffickers." I'm pretty sure he meant "the Calvo's were the victims of police drug warriors." Just this week, at least 4 seperate police officers were arrested for drug trafficking and rape. Also, 2 police officers were acquitted of shooting two unarmed men in New Orleans. People, it's time to WAKE UP!!!"

    • Posted By: Braes @ 08/14/2008 11:07:01 AM

      Comment: Cops now will kill you. This isn't wally and beav's 1950's. I make the assumption that I am within the shadow of the spectre of death anytime I see a cop in the United States.

  • Posted By: Srkdqltr @ 08/13/2008 7:49:22 PM

    Comment: The police killed the dogs because the Mother -in -Law screamed. Shame on them. They act like third world Storm Troopers. The whole law inforsement of that County should hang their heads. Ever since 9-11 our freedoms have eroded it's a slippery slope and we are going down.

  • Posted By: Srkdqltr @ 08/13/2008 7:46:21 PM

    Comment: The police said at the time they shot the dogs because the Mother in Law scremed.
    Shame on them. They sound liike Storm Troopers in a third world country. Since 9-11 we have been loosing freedoms. To quote .. it's a slippery slope, and we are sliding down it.

  • Posted By: jalaroc @ 08/13/2008 7:07:36 PM

    Comment: I think the problems come down to the fact that law enforcement sees itself now as less a servant of the people and more an enforcer of the government's laws. This goes hand in hand with the government seeing the people as accountable it it as its property and denying the fact that the government, according to the constitution, is answerable to the people. It's like that *** detective down in florida who thought he was owed free coffee by starbucks by virtue of the fact that he was a police officer of some authority. One could easily imagine such behavior in russia, nazis germany, or, more appropriately, occupied france. The people are no longer the masters of our society, we are cowed servants who dare not raise our heads too high or complain too loudly for fear of being called disloyal, a malcontent, or being placed on "the list" of people to be watched. No one can deny that the job of the police officer is a dangerous one and t