The Bipartisan Police State

The house of Berwyn Heights, Md., mayor Cheye Calvo was raided Tuesday by a Prince George's County SWAT team, which "blew through [his] doors and killed [his] dogs."

The raid was commenced after Calvo picked up a package from the front steps that was addressed to his wife. It turned out to be a 32-pound box of marijuana, which police identified in Arizona and tracked all the way to the mayor's house.

Calvo described a chaotic scene, in which he -- wearing only underwear and socks -- and his mother-in-law were handcuffed and interrogated for hours. They were surrounded by the dogs' carcasses and pools of the dogs' blood, Calvo said.

Spokesmen for the Sheriff's Office and Prince George's police expressed regret yesterday that the mayor's dogs were killed. But they defended the way the raid was carried out, saying it was proper for a case involving such a large amount of drugs.

Maybe the family knew it was weed, maybe it didn't. But one thing is clear: The police obviously don't care to consider that anyone can be set up unwittingly before they decide to storm into your house and kill you and/or your pets. They get to play judge, jury, and (far too often) executioner in assuming your guilt, especially if they can defend their actions under the guise of waging the oh so venerable "drug war."

I love this comment from Bill Anderson, who notes that the evil police state obviously is a product of both parties given that P.G. County is run by Democrats: "The cops are out of control. We have allowed this stuff to go on for so long at our own peril. The police have been turned into [the] military which we know thinks nothing of 'collateral damage.'"

Comments

[mandr410]

My first thought is, "Unbelievable". Unfortunately, it is all too believable.

I'd like to give an atta-boy to the Berwyn Heights police chief who recognized this for what it was - unreasonable use of force.

I am going out today to purchase a better weapon for home protection. When the cops can plant a reason to invade your home (or even invade the wrong home), take your family hostage and kill your pets, it's time for war.

[Mr_James1]

If only a taser had been used.....

[trevor]

Jeez, Mr. James, there really is no pleasing you, is there? I hooked you up with the title and everything (grin).

[Steve L.]

This case illustrates official contempt: contempt for the value of life, contempt for reasonableness, contempt for property rights, contempt for the innocent. Sickening.

[Al]

This is an obvious frame-job. Drug dealers don't just send UPS packages of product "addressed" to the recipient. Somebody is framing this guy, and I would bet it's his political opponent or even the police department themselves. They sure seemed to know what was in the package delivered to his door. And if this guy knew what was in the package, he wouldn't have carelessly set it down on a table and took a nap.

[Nick]

When bureaucrats attack bureaucrats, it's all a horrible mix-up and there are instantly justifications and exonerations on both sides. I just wonder what the mayor did to deserve such a set up, not to mention the fact that the largest source of drugs in that city was probably the storehouses of a police department. A little convenient to get a package with 32 lbs. of marijuana and then be raided by the police soon after...

If any private citizen had been targeted and set up with an unidentified 32 lb. package of weed, you can bet the reaction would be completely different. No media justifications or mention of a possible set up -- just more on the evils of illegal drugs and a character assassination attempt or two, along with medals for the murderous SWAT team.

[Wolf]

I'm SHOCKED that a SWAT team broke in and killed the dogs first. (Note the sarcasm.) Seriously... when are Americans going to stand up and do something to take back our rights? And no, I'm not advocating violence... I'm advocating standing up en masse and sending a strong message that we're taking this country back.

[trevor]

Wolf, I don't want to sit here and advocate violent revolution either, but I'm wondering what other choice liberty-minded people have these days. Our political culture is corrupt and it seems our choices are either to accept the status quo or actually do something about it.

I think an interesting debate question would be: Is morality any less real or important when only a minority of the population values it? In other words, we generally see political upheavals - wars in extreme cases, such as the Am Rev - only when a majority of the people have finally had enough and are ready to risk their lives for the hope of something better. But do percentages matter?

Clearly the majority of Americans simply do not want freedom - at least in any other capacity than in theory alone - and therefore a rebellion waged by the minority would be frowned upon and ridiculed (see what happened when Ron Paul merely advocated a nonviolent revolution). But in a just society, morality must be the standard. The State causes unilateral death and destruction, even if implicitly, every day. Is putting an end to it, by any means necessary, immoral?

[Keith B]

One thing we can do is to stop re-electing the incumbent to office. Forget about seniority, we don't need handouts that bad. In fact, stop relying on them and start relying on ourselves to solve society's problems, rather than someone else. People need to wake up!