Bloggers comment on the Calvo case and Sheriff Jackson

(Updated 11 Aug 2008, 11:20 am)

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What the blogosphere thinks of the Calvo case Prince George's County Sheriff Michael A. Jackson.

who's your nanny?
"Sheriff Jackson Must Resign"
Posted by Trevor Bothwell on August 11, 2008

I second the sentiment of Diane Russell, who blogs at PG-Politics and calls for Prince George's County, Md., Sheriff Michael Jackson to resign over the criminal "no-knock" raid his office conducted on Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo and his family on July 29. . . .

Or, absent resignation, maybe the sheriff could just be forcibly removed from office by a small army of citizens who have just as much regard for Jackson's welfare as his officers have for the innocent people they terrorize. . . .

The Vulture Lurks
"Militarized Police run amok in PG county "
by Michael Fullmer, 11 Aug 2008

Tip of the Beak to Rachel Lucas for calling my attention to this steaming mess.

Prince Georges county (PG county or "piggy" county to you out-of-staters) is a highly schizophrenic place. There is the PG county of bedroom suburbs of Washington, DC; places like College Park and Silver Spring. Bowie and Laurel. But much of the county sits hard against the worst and most crime-ridden Wards of DC. Places with names like Suitland and Capitol Heights. High-crime places.

But now, thanks to the PG County Sheriffs Department, the phenomena of increasingly militarized and out of control local police forces has come home to Maryland.
. . .
Wake up, people! The next house the Stoßtruppen crash could be yours!

Maryland Politics Today
"The E List: Prince George’s County Sheriff Michael Jackson"
August 9th, 2008 by P. Kenneth Burns

Now to the latest addition to our honor roll of people who disrespects the intelligence of the constituency….Prince George’s County Sheriff Michael Jackson. . . .

Prince George’s County Sheriff Michael Jackson…ALONG with Prince George’s County Police Chief Melvin High (for good measure)…this weekend’s WORST OF MARYLAND.

The Northern Muckraker
"The Jack-Booted Thug(s) of the Week..."
by Douglas Hester, 11 Aug 2008

...are most assuredly the SWAT team officers from the Prince George's County, Maryland Police Department, with excellent assistance from the same county's Sheriff's Department . . .It seems that the judy-boys on the "tacti-cool" team were somehow intimidated by a family dog that was fleeing in fear from them, so they decided in the interests of officer safety to cut it down, without regard to injuring innocent neighbors or bystanders. More on said safety in a minute. . . .

Titanic Bugle
"Acts of Cruelty, Stupidity and Cowardice - The Facts, and What You Can Do to Stop This From Happening Again"
Posted by Blogger at 8/09/2008 03:01:00 PM

. . . IF YOU LIVE IN PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTRY OR DO BUSINESS THERE, YOU SHOULD DEMAND THAT JACKSON TO RESIGN, AS HIS REPUTATION THERE IS CONSISTENT WITH THIS ONE INCIDENT INCIDENT. (PLEASE READ THE FIRST COMMENT POSTED BELOW). HE HAS LET DOWN THE PEOPLE WHO ELECTED HIM TO PROTECT THEM, AND HE HAS LET DOWN THE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN WHO SERVE UNDER HIM.

IF HE DOES NOT RESIGN, YOU SHOULD ALSO SPEAK UP IN YOUR COMMUNITY TO OUST HIM FROM OFFICE AND MAKE SURE HE NEVER RUNS FOR POLITICAL OFFICE AGAIN THERE. . . .

PG-Politics (Yahoo group)
"Tell Sheriff Jackson to resign"
Howard J. Fiske, Sun, Aug 10, 2008 at 11:38 AM

Tell Sheriff Michael Jackson to resign before his Gestapo harms anyone else and further destroys the county's reputation.
. . .
We need law enforcement officials who believe in traditional American values, not a sheriff who believes that might makes right and nothing he does should be challenged.

Heaven help us if Jackson should become county executive and assume responsibility for our already brutal police force.

Larry T. Doughty's Thoughts
"TWO PET LAB'S KILLED BY DRUG AGENTS, AFTER RAIDING THE MAYOR'S HOME. LET'S PUT THOSE DRUG AGENTS IN PRISON."
by Larry T. Doughty, 8/10/2008

. . .
I happen to be a big supporter of law enforcement officers doing their jobs in helping to stem the drug trade, but I'll be damned if I would ever support what has happened in the Maryland town.

Supposedly, the FBI will be called in, and those responsible for their stupidity, will end up in Jail. That would be too good for those agents.

And they are always looking to the general public for support, but who wants that kind of enforcement. Even the local police chief was not informed of what was about to happen with the Mayor. I understand how that would be possible.. but what about the 'warrant'?

Of yes, those responsible at the very top of this horrible drug raid, have refused to apology for their dastardly acts. Wouldn't it be just nice to see them behind bars? , , ,

The Huffington Post
"The Death of DC Suburban Mayor's Dogs Should Matter to Every American"
By Robert Creamer, August 8, 2008 | 11:52 PM (EST)

. . . First, the civil liberties in our Constitution don't just protect "criminals" or "someone else". The Prince George's County Police had a warrant to search Calvo's home. They had apparently tracked the package from its origination point in Arizona. But they did not have a warrant to break down the door without knocking, tie him up or shoot his dogs. In fact the Courts have held that it is always unacceptable to kill pets in the course of searching a home.

Calvo was changing his cloths when the police burst in, handcuffed him in his boxer shorts and held him and his mother in law forcibly for two hours.

If that could happen to a completely innocent, middle class white suburban mayor and his wife, it could happen to anyone. Calvo said, "We were harmed by the very people who took an oath to protect us." That's why the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution, because our founding fathers, and mothers, had been harmed over and over by the police and armed forces of the British Crown and wanted a country where they were protected from the arbitrary power of the state. . . .

Nation Builder
"Police Raid Mayor's House, Kill Dogs, then Admit Mistake and Refuse to Apologize"
The Builder, 8 Aug 2008

. . . Watch the Mayor's wife recount a story of a little girl who was crying and asked her how she could ever trust the cops if they broke in their house and killed their dogs.
. . .
Robert Kovalchik, a neighbor and Calvo's high school history teacher at Parkdale High School, said he was shocked that county officials had not apologized.

"This smacks of something from Nazi Germany," Kovalchik said.. . .

One Citizen Speaking
"Domestic Terror: Can we trust our police?"
8 Aug 2008

. . . This is an almost unbelievable story from the Baltimore Sun: telling the story of the Berwyn Heights Mayor and his family who were attacked by masked and armed assailants, bound and forced to lie on the floor. Meanwhile their pet dogs were shot to death.

What makes this story tragic, both for the victims and society in general is that these assailants were not criminals, they were duly sworn police officers exhibiting poor judgement and/or acting on bad information.

With the increasing formation of paramilitary units that often see themselves as the urban version of elite special forces and employ paramilitary-like tactics; we, the people, must decide for ourselves whether or not the employment of these units and tactics should be used routinely for the service of non-felony warrants or for low-level criminal activity.
. . .
In the above case, the top leadership of the county police should be fired and their pensions forfeited. Criminal complaints should be executed for “excessive force” and the determination of the guilt or innocence of the officers involved should be determined by the judiciary on an individual basis. . . .

Pocomoke Tattler
"Welcome to Nazi America!"
Comments:

xtraham, said:

each and every officer, including and up to the supervisor that put that raid together should lose their job and pay restitution that family for the rest of their lives

this had to be very unorganized, not properly investigated or orchestrated.
Then they send in trigger happy cops.

I feel for the loss of the dogs, but luckily no one was killed.

StephanieBurke, said:
This is unbelievable ! We have allowed our government far too much control over us. This needs to end!

If they really wanted to conduct a sting, why didn’t they leave the package outside to see who picked it up, then bust them?

This in my opinion was a blatant show of force and power meant to intimidate and spread fear.

Be afraid people…be very afraid!!

Then get off your butts and demand change!!!

AlterNet
"Police State Madness: Mayor's Dogs Gunned Down by Cops in Hyper-Agressive Drug Raid"
By Anthony Papa, Huffington Post. Posted August 8, 2008.

Dog lovers of the world unite. Our federal government's zero-tolerance anti-drug crusade reached a new low in Prince George's County, Maryland, when police killed two innocent pet Labrador retrievers while improperly conducting a SWAT-style drug raid on the mayor's house.

Detailed list after the jump