The stunning case brought international attention to Maryland: a mayor handcuffed, interrogated for hours, his beloved dogs shot and killed in a police drug raid.
But it was all a mistake.
Mike Hellgren uncovers more cases, taking you inside raids gone wrong and the push for national police standards.
"They bound me," Mayor Calvo said. "They pointed high-powered assault rifles at me."
In just minutes, a Prince George's County SWAT team changed Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheve Calvo's life forever.
"We'll never be the same," he said. "I can't believe my government...knocked down our door and shot our dogs."
You've likely heard of this high-profile case, but a WJZ investigation found it's not the first time beloved family pets have been killed in raids gone wrong.
"All of a sudden, I just hear 'bang, bang, bang! Open the door! Police! Open the door!'" said Pam Myers.
One year ago, a SWAT team shot her boxer, Pearl, at her home in Accokeek.
"I just wanted to go out and hold her a little bit. They wouldn't even let me," she said.
Both raids were mistakes. In Myers' case, police were looking for a suspected drug dealer who lived two doors away.
"The house is marked all over there. All they had to do is go look," she said.
Criminals targeted Mayor Calvo in a scheme where they shipped marijuana to random homeowners, then intercepted it without them knowing. But this time, the SWAT team got there first, shooting Calvo's cherished black labs.
"You wouldn't believe it, really, until it happens to you," Calvo said.
Police have defended their actions.
"Our investigators went in and showed both restraint and compassion," said former Prince George's County Police Chief Melvin High.
Nationwide, WJZ found other raids involving animals, including one in New York, where a SWAT team shot a 13-year-old's dog. The bullet ricocheted and hit the boy in his leg.
In Arizona, SWAT members chased a puppy into a burning building. The pet was burned to death.
But few cases have generated the international outrage that Mayor Calvo's has.
"Is it really appropriate to break down someone's front door, slaughter their pets and throw them on the floor at gunpoint over a box of marijuana?" said Radley Balko.
Balko has extensively researched botched raids and tells WJZ it's impossible to track them because police departments are not required to keep records or make them public.
"It's the presumption that these tactics are appropriate for what really are not life-threatening, violent, sort of imminently threatening emergency situations," Balko said.
Eyewitness News traveled to Doylestown, Pa. to the headquarters of the National Tactical Officers Association. They train SWAT teams from around the world.
Executive Director John Gnagey declined to talk about Calvo's case but did show us the first-ever national SWAT team standards he helped develop.
"If something goes wrong during a pre-planned warrant raid, then you didn't plan well enough," he said. "Many carry dog sticks, where they come in and they just loop them around their neck and pull them aside. That's the last resort you want to do is shoot the dog."
Right now, Mayor Calvo is demanding accountability. He adopted a new lab, Marshall--named after the former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall--and hopes the violent, tragic mistakes made in his case will lead to justice and reform.
"The county has defended their actions, saying basically that what they did to us is standard operating procedure," he said. "That's the chilling message."
The FBI has launched an investigation into Calvo's case. In an internal review, the Prince George's County Sheriff's Office determined officers were justified in shooting Mayor Calvo's dogs.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: WJZ.com
Author: Mike Hellgren
Contact: WJZ.com
Copyright: MMVIII, CBS Corporation
Website: Family Pets Killed When Police Raids Go Wrong
But it was all a mistake.
Mike Hellgren uncovers more cases, taking you inside raids gone wrong and the push for national police standards.
"They bound me," Mayor Calvo said. "They pointed high-powered assault rifles at me."
In just minutes, a Prince George's County SWAT team changed Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheve Calvo's life forever.
"We'll never be the same," he said. "I can't believe my government...knocked down our door and shot our dogs."
You've likely heard of this high-profile case, but a WJZ investigation found it's not the first time beloved family pets have been killed in raids gone wrong.
"All of a sudden, I just hear 'bang, bang, bang! Open the door! Police! Open the door!'" said Pam Myers.
One year ago, a SWAT team shot her boxer, Pearl, at her home in Accokeek.
"I just wanted to go out and hold her a little bit. They wouldn't even let me," she said.
Both raids were mistakes. In Myers' case, police were looking for a suspected drug dealer who lived two doors away.
"The house is marked all over there. All they had to do is go look," she said.
Criminals targeted Mayor Calvo in a scheme where they shipped marijuana to random homeowners, then intercepted it without them knowing. But this time, the SWAT team got there first, shooting Calvo's cherished black labs.
"You wouldn't believe it, really, until it happens to you," Calvo said.
Police have defended their actions.
"Our investigators went in and showed both restraint and compassion," said former Prince George's County Police Chief Melvin High.
Nationwide, WJZ found other raids involving animals, including one in New York, where a SWAT team shot a 13-year-old's dog. The bullet ricocheted and hit the boy in his leg.
In Arizona, SWAT members chased a puppy into a burning building. The pet was burned to death.
But few cases have generated the international outrage that Mayor Calvo's has.
"Is it really appropriate to break down someone's front door, slaughter their pets and throw them on the floor at gunpoint over a box of marijuana?" said Radley Balko.
Balko has extensively researched botched raids and tells WJZ it's impossible to track them because police departments are not required to keep records or make them public.
"It's the presumption that these tactics are appropriate for what really are not life-threatening, violent, sort of imminently threatening emergency situations," Balko said.
Eyewitness News traveled to Doylestown, Pa. to the headquarters of the National Tactical Officers Association. They train SWAT teams from around the world.
Executive Director John Gnagey declined to talk about Calvo's case but did show us the first-ever national SWAT team standards he helped develop.
"If something goes wrong during a pre-planned warrant raid, then you didn't plan well enough," he said. "Many carry dog sticks, where they come in and they just loop them around their neck and pull them aside. That's the last resort you want to do is shoot the dog."
Right now, Mayor Calvo is demanding accountability. He adopted a new lab, Marshall--named after the former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall--and hopes the violent, tragic mistakes made in his case will lead to justice and reform.
"The county has defended their actions, saying basically that what they did to us is standard operating procedure," he said. "That's the chilling message."
The FBI has launched an investigation into Calvo's case. In an internal review, the Prince George's County Sheriff's Office determined officers were justified in shooting Mayor Calvo's dogs.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: WJZ.com
Author: Mike Hellgren
Contact: WJZ.com
Copyright: MMVIII, CBS Corporation
Website: Family Pets Killed When Police Raids Go Wrong
