SWAT team raids mayor's home, kills pet dogs

[KBCraig]

Why should the mayor get treated differently than the construction worker or the computer programmer?

To his great credit, the mayor is pointing out that this kind of thing happens frequently, only it doesn't make the news because the victims aren't elected officials.

(Be prepared for profanity in the comments):
http://www.theagitator.com/2008/08/10/c ... o-gets-it/

"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."

More good excerpts, and a link to his letter to DOJ, at the link. The one that troubles me the most:

"Georgia was questioned by a detective named Kim, who in the course of her questioning managed to talk on her cell phone and to make a veterinary appointment for her dog. Georgia overheard Kim tell her friend that, this was her first raid and that it was "exciting" because it was the mayor’s house."

[CompVest]

This kind of thing should not even happen once let alone "frequently"! I think the swat teams are a bit over zealous. The part about presumed innocent until proven guilty has been trampled on way to often. These teams need to be sure of their facts before smashing into people's homes. I have been the neighbor of one these smash arrests and it was ugly and did not need to be.

It looks like these teams use any excuse to justify their existence and use their "skills".

[pedalman]

Radley Balko has a study titled, "Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America". You can find it at the Cato institute: http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6476"

[gregthehand]

I'm sick and tired of these raids. If someone asked me I'd say these guys are playing dress-up. No different than some dentist all decked out in leather with a biker gang vest on riding his Harley. I just feel after knowing a few and watching shows like Dallas SWAT that these guys need to stop watching movies like SWAT, Heat, and Black Hawk Down. Plus this whole using CIs to get information and then tear someones house apart is stupid. I've seen them litteraly tear someones front porch down and find NOTHING. Leave the SWAT team suff for real criminals. Plus when was the last time you heard of someone getting baked and shooting it out with the cops?

[CompVest]

+1 gregthehand

They have to do raids in order to justify their existance. They appearently don't care if their intel is good just that they have an excuse for a raid.

[seamusTX]

Mr. Calvo is escalating the pressure to get a federal investigation of this incident. It looks like he will succeed.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/ ... 9848.story
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/ ... 2304.story

- Jim

[bryang]

Thanks for the update, Jim, I certainly hope he will succeed in his efforts for a federal investigation in to this incident. I would like to see the officers involved in this raid held accountable for this. This sounds like the kind of raids the Nazis did to millions of innocent people. This just should not have happened in America, however, I know it does all the time.

-geo

[KBCraig]

The PGSO has concluded their investigation and concluded the officers were fully justified in both forcing entry, and shooting the dogs.

Their "investigation" did not question either Calvo or his mother, the two people who were in the house at the time.

[WildBill]

Their "investigation" did not question either Calvo or his mother, the two people who were in the house at the time.

It sounds like the "investigation" should be investigated.

[bryang]

Yes, Yes, Yes!

[Purplehood]

Makes me wonder what is being left-out of the info-loop here...

[dihappy]

Radley Balko has a study titled, "Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America". You can find it at the Cato institute: http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6476"

Police say that Diotaiuto’s concealed-carry permit indicated he was potentially dangerous, which necessitated the involvement of the SWAT team.

Wow! Now thats scary :(

[KBCraig]

Mayor Calvo sat down for a Cato podcast, and did quite well for himself:

http://cato.org/dailypodcast/cheyecalvo ... 080912.mp3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[seamusTX]

More than a year has gone by, and this story has been buried. Apparently no one has been charged with an offense in the SWAT raid. The mayor whose house was raided filed a lawsuit; but as usual, discovery will take years.

The sheriff is now up for re-election. Commentary from the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 03872.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- Jim

[chabouk]

Calvo editorial from September:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01680.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Maryland passed a police accountability law regarding tactical raids:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 03564.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;