-
-
Family dogs shot to death in questionable police raid
Mayor Cheye Calvo got home from work, saw a package addressed to his wife on the front porch and brought it inside, putting it on a table. Suddenly, police with guns drawn kicked in the door and stormed in, shooting to death the couple's two dogs and seizing the unopened package.
In it were 32 pounds of marijuana. BUT, the drugs evidently didn't belong to the couple.
Police say the couple appeared to be INNOCENT VICTOMS of a scheme by two men to smuggle millions of dollars worth of marijuana by having it delivered to about a half-dozen unsuspecting recipients.
The TWO MEN UNDER ARREST include a FedEx deliveryman; investigators said the deliveryman would drop off a package outside a home, and the other man would come by a short time later and pick it up.
A furious Calvo said Thursday that he and his wife, Trinity Tomsic, are asking the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the July 29 raid.
"Trinity was an innocent victim and random victim," Calvo said outside his two-story, red-brick house in this middle-class Washington suburb of about 3,000 people. "We were harmed by the very people who took an oath to PROTECT us."
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."
The mayor, who was changing his clothes when police burst in, also complained that he was handcuffed in his boxer shorts for about two hours along with his mother-in-law, and said the officers didn't believe him when he told them he was the mayor.
NO charges were brought against Calvo or his wife, who came home in the middle of the raid.
Prince George's County Police Chief Melvin High said Wednesday that Calvo and his family were "most likely ... innocent victims," but he would not rule out their involvement, and he defended the way the raid was conducted. He and other OFFICIALS DID NOT apologize for killing the dogs, saying the officers felt threatened.
Police announced Wednesday they had arrested two men suspected in a plot to smuggle 417 pounds of marijuana, and seized a total of $3.6 million in pot. Investigators said the package that arrived on Calvo's porch had been sent from Los Angeles via FedEx, and they had been tracking it ever since it drew the attention of a drug-sniffing dog in Arizona.
Police intercepted it in Maryland, and an undercover detective posing as a deliveryman took it to the Calvo home.
Calvo's defenders; including the Berwyn Heights police chief, who said his department should have been alerted ahead of time; said POLICE HAD NO RIGHT to enter the home without knocking.
*More Links/Video:
http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20080807/capt.a6d667... Mayor Cheye Calvo got home from work, saw a package addressed to his wife on the front porch and brought it inside, putting it on a ta... more -
South Florida City Hall Meetings Ban Politics...
Ummm...to me this seems like a 1st amendment violation...
By Susannah Bryan and Rachel Hatzipanagos | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
July 15, 2008
COOPER CITY - Dare to wear an Obama or McCain campaign pin to a Cooper City meeting and you might get hit with a $75 fine.
That's if city leaders embrace an ordinance that would outlaw wearing buttons or clothing with a political message at city events held on public property. Political signs and literature, profane language and boisterous behavior also would be banned under the plan the commission is expected to discuss tonight.
Commissioner John Sims said on Monday he is pushing the proposal as a way to restore polite behavior at the city's notoriously raucous public meetings. "You've got to hit people where it hurts, in their pocket," he said, explaining that a $75 fine would discourage rowdiness.
Sims' proposal comes two months after the commission approved a resolution that discourages verbal attacks during public meetings. At the time, the commission said the measure was an attempt to bring civility to City Hall. Sims, the target of a failed recall effort earlier this year, said the current rules don't go far enough.
Longtime resident Gladys Wilson railed against Sim's new plan. "I have a First Amendment right to wear a pin, a necklace, a pair of earrings, whatever I want to wear," she said. "It's just ridiculous what's going on."
Mayor Debbie Eisinger doubts such a measure would be legal.
"On public property, I don't think that you can stop someone from campaigning or taking some political activity," she said.
City Attorney David Wolpin said former City Clerk Susan Bernard drafted the proposed ordinance at Sims' request without consulting him. Wolpin declined to discuss the proposal, saying he planned to share his legal opinion with commissioners tonight.
Bob Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University, said the proposed law is "clearly unconstitutional" and goes too far in prohibiting free speech.
But Marc Rohr, also a law professor at NSU, said the city's elected leaders have the right to limit free speech, including campaign buttons, during public meetings. "There are certain settings in which government entities can control the forum," Rohr said.
Earlier this year, some residents targeted Sims, saying they wanted him removed from office for a now-defunct blog registered to him that posted anti-Semitic statements about the mayor. Sims has said he had nothing to do with the postings.
Sims said local campaigns were the main target of his new proposal, but added he has no problem banning Obama or McCain campaign buttons.
"The meetings should not give a venue for people to express their political views," he said. "My attempt is to limit political grandstanding inside City Hall."
Diane Sori, an outspoken critic of City Hall, said she plans to speak out against the measure.
"This is not how freedom of speech works in the United States," she said.
Commissioner Lisa Mallozzi said Sims' plan goes too far.
"I don't think this would be passed. If it does I'll be dumbfounded," Mallozzi said.
Walt Jolliff, a Sims supporter, compared some City Commission meetings to a "Salem witch hunt."
While critics say the new rule would trample on free speech, Jolliff doesn't share those concerns.
"You have to start some place," he said. Ummm...to me this seems like a 1st amendment violation... ... more -
Your City Council Could Save the World
TouchArt's friend Bill Brown up in Taos, New Mexico sent this good news from green architect and visionary Santa Fean Ed Mazria on how our city councils can help save the earth.
______________________
Greetings, All -- Pertinent Sage West Consultants' work on the Town of Taos, New Mexico High Performance Building Ordinance is the article below indicating how local building codes "...are fast becoming the Titans in the battle against climate change."
To get an idea of the numbers involved in energy use by buildings and sectors, see http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pzrff2j0rl2yXwUi...
As always, please contact Sage West Consultants principals with your questions.
See http://gristmill.grist.org/print/2008/7/8/15370/78756?s... for additional tabular information and guest comments on the article below.
-- Bill Brown for Sage West Consultants
www.nmglobalwarming.com
Read Ed Mazria's essay at link below.
http://gristmill.grist.org/print/2008/7/8/15370/78756?s...
_____________________
From TouchArt.net and OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com
where everyday, is, and always has been, Earth Day. TouchArt's friend Bill Brown up in Taos, New Mexico sent this good news from green architect and visionary Santa Fean Ed Mazria o... more -
No more buzzwords, please!
British bureaucrats have been warned: no more synergies, stakeholders or sustainable communities.
The body that represents the country's local authorities has told its members to stop using management buzzwords, saying they confuse people and prevent residents from understanding what local governments do.
The Local Government Association, whose members include hundreds of district, town and county councils in England and Wales, on Friday sent out a list of 100 "non-words" that it said officials should avoid if they want to be understood.
The list includes the popular but vague term "empowerment;" "coterminosity," a situation in which two organizations oversee the same geographical area; and "synergies," combinations in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Officials were told to ditch the term "revenue stream" for income, as well as the imprecise "sustainable communities." The association also said councils should stop referring to local residents as "customers" or "stakeholders."
The association's chairman, Simon Milton, said officials should not "hide behind impenetrable jargon and phrases." British bureaucrats have been warned: no more synergies, stakeholders or sustainable communities. ... more -
Which industries need to shape up?
Forget Leonardo DiCaprio and his Prius. The true face of Hollywood is one of waste and environmental malaise. According to a UCLA report, Tinseltown is a strange mix of green forward thinkers and those entrenched in the old ways. Studios build and tear down tons of set materials without recycling, use thousands of diesel generators, and the industry as a whole emits almost eight million tons of carbon dioxide. Many studios have begun greening programs, but it’s going to take more than a couple eco-celebs to make up for a century of waste.
Popular Science
http://www.popsci.com/environment/article/2008-06/five-... Forget Leonardo DiCaprio and his Prius. The true face of Hollywood is one of waste and environmental malaise. According to a UCLA repo... more -
SEP Rough Cut - Crosswalk Criminal
Whitney Stump was arrested in July of 2007 for vandalism. What he vandalized was a neighborhood intersection, by painting a crosswalk for pedestrians. Whitney Stump was arrested in July of 2007 for vandalism. What he vandalized was a neighborhood intersection, by painting a crosswalk... more
-
Let's stop killing Gods children!
I decided to decorate my backyard for Halloween. I asked myself what am I afraid of? I made a crime scene because that is what scares me. Nearly everyday I see make shift memorials on so many streets of Los Angeles almost daily.
My family has been blessed to have not been victims of violent crime. I'm not willing to wait until it happens. Are you?
Join the fight with me to find solutions, start a dialogue. We need each other! You may say, I'm only one person ,how can I make a difference? I used to say the same thing. I can't live with myself any more without trying. When I see the hurt from families of victims of violent crime on the news I feel embarrassed and so sad. I don't know how they have the strength to stand there and speak. My heart just aches for them. If saving our kids lives would receive half as much press as Britney and Lindsey we can win this fight. I'm a 52 year old disabled Grandmommy and if I can do something, so can every other American. I am a firm believer that prayer works. However, we need to get off our knees and get to work and save some lives.
Blessings
Marsha (Weezie) Bolden
marsha-bolden@sbcglobal.net I decided to decorate my backyard for Halloween. I asked myself what am I afraid of? I made a crime scene because that is what scares... more
-
related topics
Local Government
Contributors (32)
Local Government
