Mayor Cleared In Raid That Killed Dogs

Mayor And Wife No Longer Considered Suspects In Drug Smuggling Scheme

(CBS/ AP)  A small-town mayor whose dogs were killed in a drug raid was cleared of any wrongdoing after police had been reluctant to rule out his involvement in drug smuggling or apologize for the violent incident.

Prince George's County Police Chief Melvin High said Friday he called Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo and his wife, Trinity Tomsic, on Thursday to say they were no longer suspected in a drug smuggling scheme.

A SWAT team raided the mayor's home July 29 after intercepting a FedEx package shipped to Tomsic that was filled with 32 pounds of marijuana. Officers broke down the door, shot the two dogs and kept Calvo and his mother-in-law bound for nearly two hours.

Police now believe the drug delivery was part of a scheme that sent packages to the homes of unsuspecting recipients. The packages would then be picked up by someone else shortly after delivery. Two suspects have been arrested in the case.

"The Calvo family members were the apparent victims of a local drug ring," High said in a statement. "I called him to express my sorrow and regret for that and for the loss of the family's beloved dogs."

High stopped short of apologizing for how the drug raid was carried out. He said the police department was conducting a review of the narcotics investigation that led to the raid. The county sheriff has said the dogs' deaths were justified, saying officers felt threatened.

Investigators had been tracking the package that arrived on Calvo's front porch since it drew the attention of a drug-sniffing dog in Arizona.

Calvo and Tomsic requested a federal civil rights investigation of the case on Thursday, and the FBI responded by launching a review. The couple says there may be a systemic abuse of search warrant powers and use of force in the county.

"The deputies opened fire and executed our dogs the very second they broke down our front door," Calvo, 37, said at a news conference on his front lawn Thursday. "We were harmed by the very people who took an oath to protect us."

"It was a horrible, horrible incident," Calvo told Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith Friday, "but I think it's also the kind of thing that happens, and I don't think we would have realized that until it happened to us."

"What's really troubling," Calvo continued, "is they didn't have a proper warrant to do what they did. They actually didn't give us a warrant at all until 71 hours after it happened. And that's really what's disturbing -- despite all the mistakes that were made, they're holding to their guns, saying they did nothing wrong.

"This happened to us. We can't get our dogs back, and we know that. But the reason we asked for federal authorities to investigate this is because this is a systemic problem, and we want to make sure that, while it happened to us and that's a tragedy, we don't want it to happen to anyone else."

Calvo insisted the couple's two black Labradors were gentle creatures and said police apparently killed them "for sport," gunning down one of them as it was running away.

"Our dogs were our children," said the 37-year-old Calvo. "They were the reason we bought this house because it had a big yard for them to run in."

Maryland State Sen. Paul Pinsky, who represents the suburban Washington district, said the case was a good example of frequent police action in minority communities that fails to capture the same level of attention as Calvo's case.

[rwm2_2000]

For the life of me, I just can''t see WHY he is still in his office as sheriff. He SHOULD be in one of the cells! I really hope that folks will keep the pressure on him. Once it''s no longer on the news sites most of us won''t know the outcome.

[bobnjersey]

[High stopped short of apologizing for how the drug raid was carried out. He said the police department was conducting a review of the narcotics investigation that led to the raid. The county sheriff has said the dogs'' deaths were justified, saying officers felt threatened. ]

mr. high (no pun intended) and the county sheriff should be removed from office without hesitation. all the officers that made up the team that executed the warrant should also be removed from their positions.

hire people who will protect and serve the populace ... cause these people currently in these positions apparently don''t know how to do this.

[bks59]

in the worse case we are talking about marijuana and its street value, no kidnappings, armed robbery, violenece against another, just pot. and this is the actions taken by narcs for some pot?

make it leagal, alcohol is. Like i have said, there are deaths weekly, pehaps, daily from alcohol poisoning and overdose, not one single death can be contributed to marijuana overdose.

[zucchiniman]

Egomaniacs have always been the bane of humanity. There will not be a confession of error from the culprits. That would require integrity.

[cepe10-2009]

Living in Maryland you learn pretty quick that law enforcement does not nessicarily feel they are subject tot he law.

Not surprising at all that the warrant was not handled in a legal and appropriate manner...

The excuses fro not following procedure are many and these agencies use tax payer dollars to fund their defense when they are caught.

The supervisor and the dog executors (notice I don''t call them law enforcement officers because someone that intentionally violates the law - improper warrant - improper service) needs to be sued personally before any real responsibility will come.

As it is the citizens

[abnrgr3]

ohh and on a side note. I took an Oath to defend this country against all enemies foriegn and DOMESTIC. I can guarantee you my dogs would not have died. Read into that however you like.

[abnrgr3]

I was not surprised by this incident as this is a pretty common occurance across America. I do hope however that the Police involved are held accountable and not just get a slap on the wrist. I am a former soldier who served in Combat zones and felt threatened the entire time, but that didnt give me a blank check to open fire on anything that moved.
To the Officers involved or any that are reading this. You Signed on to possibly put yourself in harms way as i did when I signed up for the military. Earn your pay and stop making excuses

[dennisaa2]

I hope the sue the police, and all involved for as much as they can get plus some.
It''s BS that "it was justified" and was an act of extreme stupidity and outrageous.
One of the dogs was shot while running away, a real threat!
It just shows how out police state is getting out of control. This is happening all over the country as the police think they can do anything they want.
I hope these people sue them for all they have and more.
Disgusted

[txgrouch2006]

Wake UP America! You are no longer secure in your homes from a government that is out of control! The founders of this country would be horrified to see what we have allowed our government to become.
Posted by allurfears at 10:10 PM : Aug 09, 2008

They''re walking up to your door right now to confiscate your guns. In two seconds, your doorbell will ring.

ARE YOU READY TO HAND IN YOUR GUNS NOW, AMERICA???

Oops, some of you already did. Maybe that was a mistake. GET SOME MORE WHILE YOU HAVE THE CHANCE.

[txgrouch2006]

Wake UP America! You are no longer secure in your homes from a government that is out of control! The founders of this country would be horrified to see what we have allowed our government to become.
Posted by allurfears at 10:10 PM : Aug 09, 2008

They''re walking up to your door now to confiscate your guns.

ARE YOU READY TO HAND IN YOUR GUNS NOW, AMERICA???

Oops, some of you already did. Maybe that was a mistake. GET SOME MORE WHILE YOU HAVE THE CHANCE.

[txgrouch2006]

Oh, pardon me. I didn''t read carefully enough.

Now I see the Storm Troopers are DEFENDING shooting the dogs WITHOUT A WARRANT TO ENTER, and they phoned in only "regret" but refuse to apoligize or admit it was a mistake.

[allurfears]

Americans have slept through the wholesale elimination of many liberties by a growing Police State. Unlimited surveillance, "wink and nod" to warrantless home invasions, unaccountable police actions like in this example, and a government that simply says "we can do whatever we want. Sue us." - as it laughs at how powerless American Citizens have become.

Wake UP America! You are no longer secure in your homes from a government that is out of control! The founders of this country would be horrified to see what we have allowed our government to become.

[txgrouch2006]

Now, if he was the mayor of DETROIT, he would have shoved those cops around and MADE THEM PAY!!

Hey, Marion Barry was vidoetaped smoking crack, and he was ELECTED BACK INTO THE MAYOR''S OFFICE in the very next election.

But if you''re a white mayor, the cops shoot your dogs because SOMEBODY LEFT A PACKAGE AT YOUR DOOR, then they PHONE IN an apology when they realize their mistake.

I''m starting to wonder who''s really the smart ones..

[walt1944-2009]

When you read a story like this, you have to think of George Orwell''s "1984" where the citizen has no rights, cannot say or do or even THINK unless it is the way that "BIG BROTHER" wants them to say, do, or THINK!

There was once a time when "1984" was required reading in school along with American government and civics classes. Not any more!

The Great Emperor Bush''s "No Child Left Behind" left all that behind and the only ones who ready "1984" are the neocon Fascist Nazi Republicans who use it as a "Bible" to hasten the total destruction of democracy and the dawn of "THE NEW ORDER"; the establishment of the "4th REICH"!

SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!!!!
sig heil, "FAMILY VALUES", "DRRRRRILLLLL!" McCain!!!!

[rwm2_2000]

Don''t be misled by the major mainstream tv either...We do have a choice for President who''ll be for citizen rights...Democrat and Republican are not the ONLY parties running for President. Apparently they have NO ONE fit for office...Christians have Chuck Baldwin-a baptist preacher from Fla and there is Bob Barr...A vote for a loser is better than a vote for someone unfit for office! Both of these will help preserve citizen rights and hopefully strengthen our country again. This shooting is a good reason to do away with Democrats and Republicans and Also to hopefully help us all understand WHY we need to keep our guns-not give them up so our law can protect us-AND I''m not saying these folks should of used a gun to protect themselves IN THIS CASE.We all know it could of been worse if someone had gotten killed as the 95 yo woman did in Atlanta who tried to protect herself when police served a no-knock warrant on her.This case just points out that we as citizens should NEVER agree to do away with our gun and let our police protect us...

[toolmangler-2009]

Anybody that has not read Orwells "1984" should read it, open their eyes and look around.

[nothappyatall]

"I called him to express my sorrow and regret for that and for the loss of the family''s beloved dogs."

High stopped short of apologizing for how the drug raid was carried out."

I like how he CALLS them on the phone, real nice touch! a real man and an honest apologetic would have personally driven to their house to do it IN PERSON!
I''m surprised he didn''t just send a FAX or email with his very plastic "apology"

[nothappyatall]

High said in a statement. "I called him to express my sorrow and regret for that and for the loss of the family''s beloved dogs."

No, he called them HOPING to asuage them and avoid a *LAWSUIT* for millions of dollars and internal review, I hope these people sue the AZZEZ off these idiots good! gezus f''ing krist this country has gone beyond sanity over this drug chit, f''ing marijuana in a package justifies breaking down the WRONG door without a search warrant, executing the homeowner''s PETS all without just cause over some freaking WEED.

Coulda been worse for those who love kids- the couple''s toddler pops out of the adjacent room and gets gunned down by a trigger happy FBI nut over some WEED!
They had the house surrounded, where the hel1 do they think the occupants could GO???

If those were my dogs they would regret their stupidity

[jennmarikp]

We as Americans better wake up and start realizing that our rights are slowly being taken away one by one. Everyone cries for these stupid laws to be passed and no one thinks about the fact that you are asking the government and police force to step in and solve problems that can be solved if people would stop acting like the world revolves around them. Now we have police bursting into homes WITHOUT a warrant and killing innocent animals that do not have any part in a local drug scheme. This is what WE HAVE allowed to happen in our country. WAKE UP!

[poppykiote]

I''m sick of hearing about police killing dogs and human beings over crimes that have nothing to do with life and death situations. Waving guns around and shooting dogs over a package of weed is ludicrous, to the say the least. I think it''s extremely disturbing that our 4th amendment rights are being trampled on daily by overzealous police departments who are so amped about making raids on people''s homes that they lose all sense of proportion. It''s almost as if making these raids have become a sort of sport with them. And, in this case, they killed the dogs over nothing; and, that the dogs were friendly labrador retrievers who were actually running from them as they were shot. It''s sickening that the police departments have sunk to this level in our country, sending out these maniacs who are supposed to protect us, when, in reality they are scarier than whatever it is they are supposedly protecting us from. I hope the mayor and his family sue that police department. Any police officer who kills animals for no reason should be fired. If they would kill animals for no reason, it''s pretty clear that they would also kill human beings without provocation. I think that there is a dangerous trend in this country lately which allows police to overstep their boundaries, violating our rights to life, liberty, and privacy. I hope this incident is a wakeup call and that police departments across the country will rethink what it is to be a police department.