Imagine this scenario: You are inside your home when suddenly, with no warning, policemen burst inside, tie you up [and your mother-in-law], and then shoot your two black Labrador pets. You are innocent of any crime, as were your dead dogs.
Has America gone crazy???
Md. mayor to call for federal probe after SWAT team raids his house, shoots his dogs
A local politician plans to request a federal investigation into the actions of police officers who raided his house and shot his dogs last month during a drug investigation, according to The (Baltimore) Sun.
The Washington Post reports that investigators in Prince George's County, Md., didn't have a so-called "no-knock warrant" when they stormed the residence of Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo on July 29.
"This crime was compounded by law enforcement when it illegally invaded the Calvo home, tied up the mayor and his mother-in-law, and killed the family dogs," Timothy Maloney, the family's attorney, tells the paper. "The Calvo family is still waiting for an explanation from law enforcement as to how this could possibly have happened."
The SWAT team moved in after Calvo retrieved a box of marijuana from the front steps. Investigators had a standard search warrant, which requires officers to announce themselves before entering the premises, when they kicked in the front door, shot the black Labs and detained the occupants.
Calvo and his wife, Trinity Tomsic, whose name was on the package, denied having any knowledge of the drugs.
The Post says investigators have since charged two people, including a deliveryman, with shipping drugs to "unsuspecting recipients" whose addresses were being used as waystations in the drug trade.