In November, county police special operations officers shot and killed an aggressive pit bull while raiding a home in Brooklyn Park.
Aside from the animal's death, which has not previously been disclosed, the Nov. 6 operation was fairly routine.
In the last six months of 2009 alone, new state figures show the county and Annapolis police departments deployed their versions of SWAT teams a total of 85 times: 54 for the county's Quick Response Team and 31 for the city's Annapolis Special Emergency Team.
So far this year, the county QRT has been deployed another 60 times.
These officers have specialized training and drill constantly. They're invaluable in some emergencies.
But day to day, they're mostly foot soldiers in a failed, yet unending war on drugs. Sometimes they catch violent felons, but more often it's small-time drug dealers caught with paltry amounts of narcotics, like those found in Brooklyn Park.
SWAT team deployment numbers must be reported to the state every six months under a 2009 state law passed after sheriff's deputies in Prince George's County shot and killed a small-town mayor's dogs during a raid.
It turned out the mayor, Cheye Calvo of Berwyn Heights, was completely innocent. Someone sent a package of marijuana to his house in 2008 as part of a scam.
His prominence and the resulting media coverage amplified an ongoing national debate about the militarization of law enforcement.
Police say the quasi-military tactics are necessary to protect officers.
"Things always have the potential to go wrong when you're violently entering someone's house, such as knocking the door off the hinges," said Lt. Shawn Urbas, who oversees QRT as commander of the Special Operations Section.
Most raids in the county and city are for "Part II" crimes, which include drug offenses, rather than violent "Part I" crimes.
In the Brooklyn Park raid in which the dog was killed, 10 QRT officers entered 310 Audrey Ave. at 5:56 a.m., shooting flash-bang grenades inside and outside the house.
Two of the three dogs inside fled, but the other one stayed and lunged at officers. After repeated attempts to scare it off with flash-bangs, police had no choice and shot the animal, Urbas said.
Police seized 39 grams, or less than 1.4 ounces, of marijuana and $640 cash. Three people were arrested, and no weapons were found.
This was part of "Operation DRAGON," which ran from October to April and focused on crime in north county. In that operation, police raided eight houses and arrested at least 24 people, all on drug charges.
All for 3.6 ounces of marijuana, some prescription drugs, just over an ounce of ******* and one gun.
Urbas said the Audrey Avenue operation was a high-risk one because some targets of the investigation had a history of violence, including past charges of attempted murder, armed robbery and weapons violations.
Under a new county police policy, officers must do a written risk assessment before requesting QRT assistance. (Previously, such assessments were done more informally.) Urbas said the new policy provides "checks and balances" to ensure appropriate force is used, but is not related to the new state law or the Prince George's raid.
The drug dealers or addicts whose doors are knocked down might not be sympathetic. But the raids also put officers' lives at risk for little payoff.
Every police officer accepts the risk of dying trying to catch a robber or while, say, raiding a house to arrest a killer. Would you want to die going after an ounce of marijuana?
Should SWAT teams be used in emergencies, or is it OK for county police to knock down doors a couple of times a week on average to seize nonviolent drug offenders?
You can't blame the police for doing the job they've been given in the safest way possible.
It's up to elected officials to decide what that job should be.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Maryland Gazette
Contact: The Maryland Gazette
Copyright: 2010 The Maryland Gazette and Capital Gazette Communications, Inc.
Website: SWAT raids raise questions on drug war
Aside from the animal's death, which has not previously been disclosed, the Nov. 6 operation was fairly routine.
In the last six months of 2009 alone, new state figures show the county and Annapolis police departments deployed their versions of SWAT teams a total of 85 times: 54 for the county's Quick Response Team and 31 for the city's Annapolis Special Emergency Team.
So far this year, the county QRT has been deployed another 60 times.
These officers have specialized training and drill constantly. They're invaluable in some emergencies.
But day to day, they're mostly foot soldiers in a failed, yet unending war on drugs. Sometimes they catch violent felons, but more often it's small-time drug dealers caught with paltry amounts of narcotics, like those found in Brooklyn Park.
SWAT team deployment numbers must be reported to the state every six months under a 2009 state law passed after sheriff's deputies in Prince George's County shot and killed a small-town mayor's dogs during a raid.
It turned out the mayor, Cheye Calvo of Berwyn Heights, was completely innocent. Someone sent a package of marijuana to his house in 2008 as part of a scam.
His prominence and the resulting media coverage amplified an ongoing national debate about the militarization of law enforcement.
Police say the quasi-military tactics are necessary to protect officers.
"Things always have the potential to go wrong when you're violently entering someone's house, such as knocking the door off the hinges," said Lt. Shawn Urbas, who oversees QRT as commander of the Special Operations Section.
Most raids in the county and city are for "Part II" crimes, which include drug offenses, rather than violent "Part I" crimes.
In the Brooklyn Park raid in which the dog was killed, 10 QRT officers entered 310 Audrey Ave. at 5:56 a.m., shooting flash-bang grenades inside and outside the house.
Two of the three dogs inside fled, but the other one stayed and lunged at officers. After repeated attempts to scare it off with flash-bangs, police had no choice and shot the animal, Urbas said.
Police seized 39 grams, or less than 1.4 ounces, of marijuana and $640 cash. Three people were arrested, and no weapons were found.
This was part of "Operation DRAGON," which ran from October to April and focused on crime in north county. In that operation, police raided eight houses and arrested at least 24 people, all on drug charges.
All for 3.6 ounces of marijuana, some prescription drugs, just over an ounce of ******* and one gun.
Urbas said the Audrey Avenue operation was a high-risk one because some targets of the investigation had a history of violence, including past charges of attempted murder, armed robbery and weapons violations.
Under a new county police policy, officers must do a written risk assessment before requesting QRT assistance. (Previously, such assessments were done more informally.) Urbas said the new policy provides "checks and balances" to ensure appropriate force is used, but is not related to the new state law or the Prince George's raid.
The drug dealers or addicts whose doors are knocked down might not be sympathetic. But the raids also put officers' lives at risk for little payoff.
Every police officer accepts the risk of dying trying to catch a robber or while, say, raiding a house to arrest a killer. Would you want to die going after an ounce of marijuana?
Should SWAT teams be used in emergencies, or is it OK for county police to knock down doors a couple of times a week on average to seize nonviolent drug offenders?
You can't blame the police for doing the job they've been given in the safest way possible.
It's up to elected officials to decide what that job should be.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Maryland Gazette
Contact: The Maryland Gazette
Copyright: 2010 The Maryland Gazette and Capital Gazette Communications, Inc.
Website: SWAT raids raise questions on drug war
