Charges against a man accused of assaulting two Prince George's County police officers during an October traffic stop were dropped yesterday after the defense attorney gave prosecutors a video recording that does not support the arresting officer's allegations.
County police launched an internal investigation into the officers' actions after a reporter who reviewed the video asked about discrepancies between it and the arresting officer's account.
A camera mounted in a police cruiser captured much of the confrontation between the officers -- John Wynkoop and Scott Wilson -- and motorist Rafael A. Rodriguez, although a portion of the confrontation occurred off-camera.
The video does not show Rodriguez, 30, assaulting either officer. The audio captured one of the officers mocking the Latino driver's accent moments before the confrontation.
* * *
The three men again go out of camera range, and Rodriguez is heard repeatedly crying, "Don't kill me!"
* * *
Rodriguez said he was disappointed that his case didn't go to trial. "I'd like the judge to see the videotape to see how I acted and how the officers behaved," Rodriguez said.
[Full report]
The Prince George’s County Delegation is making a lot of noise about wanting more state aid. Should they get it?
The issue is a very sensitive one in Annapolis, in part because of the parochial assertiveness of the Prince George’s delegation.
{More (including detailed tables and quotes from Sen. Exum and Del. Ross ]
Seeking to get the jump on possible community opposition to a new stadium for DC United in Prince George's County, Maryland, a group backing the stadium has launched a new website: www.goalmaryland.com.Comment (posted on the Examiner site):
At this point, the site is kind of a blog of sorts, with the first entry made on February 17. Today's fourth entry was the most significant of the bunch, making people aware who has been getting behind the project to get it to this point, and perhaps more importantly, who the important people are in the Maryland General Assembly in terms of support. A link is also provided to the bill itself (HB 1282 in the House of Delegates). You can read the PDF of the full bill (Note: Adobe Acrobat Reader required) here.
The GoalMaryland.com site does the expected, driving home the key point of the team and county/state officials - that no current taxes will be used for the funding of the stadium and that revenue from the stadium itself will be used to pay it off. There is always understandable concern about public financing for sports stadiums and it's been a key point of contention in cities around the country for decades now.
But even in its earliest stages, I think the pro-stadium group has made a wise move. Public opposition for the stadium won't really begin until a site is chosen, which United co-Executive Chairman Victor B. MacFarlane said he's hoping to have complete within a month. Getting positive information out there about the project now before an increase in opposition occurs is a smart first step. The group is smartly using social networking web sites such as Facebook to get the word out, as well. It also can't hurt for there to be a show of support for the project at the citizen level before the General Assembly takes up discussions on the bill. The General Assembly is in session until mid-April. [More unrelated to stadium issue ]
Kudos to Prince George's County and efforts by officials there to lure the D.C. United professional soccer team to suburban Maryland. Several sites are reportedly under consideration, and if the new stadium is made more convenient to a Metro subway station than the parking profit center known as the Washington Redskins' FedEx Field, the project could be a real economic asset for the county and state.
But the idea that the Maryland Stadium Authority might borrow money to underwrite a significant portion of this project seems dubious. It's one thing to commit taxpayer money to building an attraction like Camden Yards and supporting Major League Baseball, a highly lucrative enterprise with a national following.
Professional soccer in the United States has been around for just over a decade and, while it appears to be on a recent upswing, it has suffered its share of financial setbacks.
It is possible that D.C. United games would generate enough profits from concessions and souvenirs to allow the project to pay for itself, as supporters claim. But that's no sure thing, and other major public works projects, such as the Intercounty Connector, have pushed Maryland close enough to debt limits to recommend caution.
Residents of Prince George's County often feel like Montgomery County's poorer cousins. A new stadium might help the county raise its profile and better compete for jobs with its richer neighbor. But that alone can't justify the project.
Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty wasn't willing to commit public funds to building a stadium and keeping the team in his city, and that ought to raise a red card to even the most die-hard soccer fan. The economic realities of such a project - as the stadium authority's market analysis last year pointed out - make it, at best, a long shot of a development opportunity.
The Prince George's County Council yesterday criticized a plan that would allow a panel responsible for the sale of the county's troubled hospital system to sell pieces of it to various buyers.
After a briefing by members of the Prince George's County Hospital Authority about proposed state legislation, council member Samuel H. Dean (D-Mitchellville) argued that the plan violates an agreement the county made when it pledged, along with the state, to pay $174 million over five years to the winning bidder.
Council Chairwoman Marilynn M. Bland (D-Clinton) worried that the system's more competitive hospitals in Bowie and Laurel would be sold and the less-stable Prince George's Hospital Center in Cheverly, the state's second-busiest trauma hospital, would be left without a buyer.
* * *
Council member Camille Exum (D-Seat Pleasant) asked why the council was not consulted on the proposal. [More]
Prince George's County Council members threatened Tuesday to oppose a proposal to sell the county's three ailing public hospitals individually and said a proposal to delay the sale would cost the county more to keep the centers operating.Earlier
"Deep down, I don't feel the optimism at this point," Council Chairwoman Marilynn M. Bland (D-Dist. 9) of Clinton told officials with the Prince George's Hospital Authority, a committee appointed to oversee the sale of the hospital system.
Officials for County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) declined to comment about the hospital deal status.
* * *
"I don't see myself supportive of anything you do," Councilman Thomas E. Dernoga (D-Dist. 1) of Laurel said about the Hospital Authority. "I think the county has already bitten off more than it can chew."
* * *
"Where did this come from? Who drafted it?" asked Councilwoman Camille Exum (D-Dist. 7) of Capitol Heights, holding up a copy of the bill. "It seems like there are a lot of things in here that are not in our best interest."
* * *
"Is this pie in the sky, something we're just throwing out there? Or is this something with a good shot of coming through?" asked Councilman Eric C. Olson (D-Dist. 3) of College Park.
Bland hinted that the council might actively oppose the authority in the General Assembly. [More]
Tell Me More,Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo was having a normal day when his home was raided by a Prince Georges County SWAT team in a Maryland suburb, just outside Washington, D.C.
In July, police bombarded the Calvo home after the mayor retrieved a 32-pound package containing illegal drugs from his doorstep.
In a bizzare four-hour ordeal, Calvo and his family were tied up by police officers, who also shot and killed his two dogs.
The Calvo's were later cleared of any wrongdoing and the package
The mayor gives a detailed account of what happened when police officials bombarded his home stormed olstormed into He explains his efforts, and how life has changed since the incident.
Official Statement: Prince George's County Sherriff's Department, Prince George's County, MD
February 17, 2009
While we are very appreciative of your invitation to join Mayor Calvo in open discussion, given the incident remains both under investigation and in litigation, we will have to respectfully decline from comment at this time. I hope at its conclusion, the opportunity will once again present itself.
- Sgt. Mario Ellis #93, PIO/Community Affairs
It has been a while since I sent an email. I hope you and all yours are Blessed. These are interesting times we are living in.
Collins
Dear editor:
Government of the people, by the people and for the people is not safeguarded by career politicians or an oligarchy. It is only safeguarded by voting out of office elected officials that do not obey our
Constitution. We the People must be the ones to do it.
The challenges of the last 8 years, a budget deficit, trade deficit, moral deficit and leadership deficit are made worse by the recently passed increases in what was already out of control spending. That spending is a violation of our Constitution which our leaders swore to defend. Despite what our elected leaders in Washington seem to think, the American people are not helpless, and we do not need them to attempt to run our entire lives. For less money than the $700 billion Wall Street bailout that was rushed through Congress on October 3, 2008, the American worker could have been given a tax holiday from all income up to $100,000.00 for three years. The greatness of our nation lies in its people, our Constitutional republic, respect for the rule of law and principles like: individual responsibility, sound money, limited federal government, fiscal responsibility, economic and personal liberty, and American independence and national sovereignty.
Unfortunately, we are no longer under the rule of law, but rather are being ruled by the opinions of men. What rule of law would instruct our leaders to take $700 billion dollars from the American worker and give it to hand picked financial institutions for the stated purpose of lending it back to us? What rule of law would take the hard earned dollars of workers here in Maryland and spend it for a dog park in Hercules California or a bike path in San Diego, as is the case with the most recent “stimulus” bill? Now I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with a dog park or bike path. But it is very wrong for our federal leaders to take money from working Americans in Maryland to fund projects in California. That project decision belongs to an individual or a local and/or state authority in California. What rule of law would have Congress pick the winners and losers among business and bailouts?
In 1900 all government spending (local, state and federal combined) was 5% of GDP. 90% of that spending was local government. The state and federal spending combined was 10% of the total government spending. Prior to the recent bailout/stimulus spending, federal spending was 20% of GDP all by itself. This week on C-Span the ranking member on the Ways and Means committee, David Camp, stated that the federal spending as a percentage of the GDP is likely to go from about 20% to 40% under this new spending plan. That puts us in the ball park of socialist France.
The scriptures tell us the borrower is servant to the lender. Increased spending, paid for by increased debt, is enslaving the American worker to international financial institutions. Prior to the bail out and stimulus packages, the federal budget was already 4 ½ times all of the state’s budgets combined. The national debt was large enough to fund the entire Maryland budget for over 200 years. The federal debt plus the entitlement obligations of the federal government are now greater than all American’s net worth combined.
Do we really want the federal government to make all the spending decisions that used to be made and can still be made by individuals, by local government and by state government? Do we really want the federal government to place such a heavy drain on all the financial resources of individuals, local governments and state governments?
The current focus on spending trillions of dollars of working American’s future wealth to delay the repercussions of the out of the control spending of the last eight years, may camouflage the real issue of too much federal government. But it will not fix our economy and does not address our challenges. The CBO has already stated that the current stimulus will hurt the American economy.
In August Congress took a taxpayer paid vacation for the whole month. They didn’t seem to see any of these disasters looming then. Yet when they came back from vacation they where a tremendous hurry to rush through President Bushes Wall Street bailout so they could go on recess. We need statesmen in Washington that will restrain themselves to the least intrusive approach to fulfilling their constitutionally mandated job and leave alone all areas and issues that can be handled locally.
Statesmen in the past have understood this principle. As evidence, here are some quotes from just two of them.
“Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is a necessary evil: in its worst state, an intolerable one.” Thomas Paine
"Some writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. Society is produced by our wants and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last a punisher.” Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776AD.
“It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.” Thomas Jefferson
“I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.” Thomas Jefferson
“My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.” Thomas Jefferson
“To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.” Thomas Jefferson
And in light of our Washington leaders stated goal of re-inflating the housing bubble: “I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.' Thomas Jefferson
Collins Bailey
5200 Christmas Place
Waldorf, Maryland 20601
Charles County
Ph. 301-274-4116
Fax 301-274-4124
collinsbailey@aol.com
2010 Candidate for Congress in Maryland's 5th congressional district. www.BaileyforUSCongress.com
"It Can Be Done."
Even more damaging thaN Homestead percentage increase bill is
MC/PG116-09 transit tax. It is a stealth bill and its impact cannot
be determined by reading it. It has the effect of overturning TRIM,
and I believe is under the radar for delegates. I believe they are
seeking cover, and believe they can pass 116 because you don't know
what this bill truly does (raises property tax 5 cents per hundred).
I will give you a better explanation tomorrow, but we had better be
holding the delegations' feet to the fire on both PG414 and MC/PG116-
09. they both raise taxes; they both open the barn door; they both
violate voter placed protections / they both overturn TRIM directly
and indirectly. Jack stated that MC/PG116 will raise $36million /
this will be done on the backs of homeowners.
Establishing that, for specified purposes relating to the Washington Suburban Transit District, in Prince George's County the definition of "transit facilities" includes all matters and things utilized in rendering public school transportation; etc.
Authorizing specified political subdivisions to finance the costs of public improvements in or supporting specified transit-oriented developments in specified manners; providing for the establishment and termination of specified special taxing districts; providing for the uses of specified special funds established for the improvement and maintenance of specified transit-oriented developments through tax increment financing and other specified mechanisms; etc.
Tune into NPR today to hear Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo's interview with Michelle Martin on her Program "Tell Me More."
Cheye will be discussing the botched SWAT team raid on his home last July; the international response to the incident; and pending legislation in Maryland to require more transparency and accountability for police departments who use SWAT teams.
Julie Bykowicz, Laura Smitherman and Gadi Dechter have polled the Senate and found a slim majority opposed to Gov. O'Malley's plan to abolish the death penalty. As it stands, O'Malley would need to get all four undecided votes and flip one of the people currently in the anti-repeal camp. Here's the list, as it stands:
Question: Would you be inclined to vote in favor of a full repeal of the death penalty?
YES (19)
Ulysses Currie, Prince George's (D)
Nathaniel Exum, Prince George's (D)
David C. Harrington, Prince George's (D)
C. Anthony Muse, Prince George's (D)
Douglas J.J. Peters, Prince George's (D)
Paul G. Pinsky, Prince George's (D)
NO (24)
Thomas V. Mike Miller, Calvert and Prince George's (D)
DECLINED TO ANSWER (4)
Jim Rosapepe, Prince George's and Anne Arundel (D)
* * *
Shoot, if Jim Rosapepe isn't in the repeal camp, O'Malley's facing an uphill climb.
Decades of acrimony between the Montgomery and Prince George's county commissioners who oversee suburban Maryland's beleaguered water system have come to this:See:
The three Montgomery members say they so distrust their Prince George's colleagues that they now boycott monthly meetings to prevent a quorum unless all of them can attend.
The six-member board of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission has been stalemated, 3 to 3, for a year on the choice of a general manager. One Prince George's commissioner has filed a state ethics complaint against two Montgomery commissioners, accusing them of racial bias in the search.
And the board became so bogged down in minority contracting and other matters at its 12-hour January meeting that it has yet to scrutinize the Dec. 23 rupture of a 66-inch water main beneath River Road in Bethesda, which forced firefighters to rescue stranded motorists from the resulting torrent.
* * *
In the past eight months, four huge pipes have burst, some decades short of their life expectancies. The larger breaks have led to advisories to boil water, shut down schools and restaurants, left hospitals scrambling for fresh water, snarled roads and left some homes and businesses without running taps or flushing toilets. Last month, WSSC officials blamed 611 breaks and leaks -- the largest monthly total in the utility's 90-year history -- on old pipes and freezing temperatures.
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The board will consider the utility's $1 billion capital and operating budgets today. WSSC officials have proposed a 9 percent increase in water rates, which would add about $4.50 a month to the typical residential bill. While some of that money would fund increased pipe inspections, WSSC officials said, it is far short of the 15 percent rate increase needed for "critical proactive maintenance."
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The budget does not include additional fees for longer-term infrastructure renewal. Commissioners deadlocked last year on how much to charge, and members from both counties say they won't try to impose such a fee now that the economy has soured.
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Relations between the two counties hit a low point this fall, when Counihan said the Prince George's commissioners tried to "ram through" their candidate for general manager. He said Starks, the board's chairwoman, unexpectedly called for a vote after Moore, his Montgomery colleague, had to leave the meeting early.
Moore said he had told Starks at least twice that he had an appointment he couldn't reschedule. He said it's "obvious" that Starks waited for him to leave before calling for the vote. "That's the kind of nonsense that goes on," he said.
* * *
Legislation has been introduced to appoint a seventh commissioner to break tie votes. But WSSC-related bills typically die because they are difficult to bring to a floor vote without both Montgomery and Prince George's delegations approving them.
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[Full report]
Requiring that each county board of education develop a county school uniform policy; requiring that the county board establish the policy in consultation with specified persons; requiring the State Superintendent of Schools to adopt specified regulations; requiring that conformance with and enforcement of the uniform policy comply with specified regulations and laws; and requiring the State Superintendent to develop specified standards, appropriate procedures, and guidelines.
Requiring a store to charge and collect a specified fee for each carryout bag it provides to a customer; authorizing a store to retain a specified amount of the fee under specified circumstances; providing that the sales and use tax does not apply to a specified amount of money under specified circumstances; requiring the operator of a store to remit a specified amount of money to the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays 2010 Trust Fund; requiring the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation to adopt certain regulations; etc.House text Hearing, 11 Mar 2009, 1:00 pm
Removing a provision making the State's adoption of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement contingent on the enactment by the U.S. Congress of legislation consenting to the Agreement; and requiring the Comptroller by October 1, 2009, to prepare and submit draft legislation and proposed regulations relating to the implementation of the Agreement to the Governor, the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, and the House Committee on Ways and Means.
A Prince George's County man charged with the armed robbery of a Subway sandwich shop was acquitted by a county jury this month after a detective testified that investigators did not collect evidence from surveillance cameras at the eatery.
Detective George Long also said that he did not check to see if a fingerprint lifted from the scene was left by the defendant, that police did not canvass the area for witnesses and that he did not follow up with a Subway customer who gave a statement the day of the robbery.
"The general feeling among the jurors was that the lack of evidence presented was sad," juror Pamela Pine said of the state's case. "To quote the prosecutor, the investigation was shoddy."
Assistant State's Attorney Joseph Wright used that word to describe the police investigation during his closing argument, according to Pine and the defense attorney, Harry J. Trainor Jr. A spokesman for the prosecutor's office said that Wright could not recall whether he used the word "shoddy."
Wright argued to the jury that the state nonetheless had presented enough evidence for a conviction.
Long did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Maj. Andy Ellis, a spokesman for the county police, declined to comment on the case. He said department policy requires detectives to seek evidence from surveillance cameras when possible and to search for available witnesses.
The defendant, Henry Angulo-Gil, 33, was convicted last week of first-degree felony murder in an unrelated case. The killing occurred the day after the robbery at the Subway.
* * *
Under questioning by Trainor, Long acknowledged knowing about the surveillance video. He did not explain why the recording was not collected as evidence.
"So, no canvass was done?" Trainor asked, according to a transcript. "You didn't follow up with the eyewitness who was in there, no video surveillance was retrieved and no fingerprints that were submitted ever were reported back to you, correct?"
"Correct," Long replied.
* * *
In the unrelated case, Angulo-Gil was convicted of first-degree felony murder Thursday in the April 14, 2007, shooting death of Carlos Millian, 33. According to prosecutors, Angulo-Gil shot Millian while trying to rob him of a gold chain in Langley Park.
He is scheduled to be sentenced April 1.
Prince George's County leaders and D.C. United soccer team officials today sought to build community support for moving the team to the county and to assure residents that no existing tax revenue would be used to build a new stadium.D.C. United to be Moved to Prince George's County.
But team co-owner Victor MacFarlane acknowledged that Maryland would be "on the hook" if new revenues fall short of projections, a scenario he described as unlikely because of the team's "proven track record."
* * *
Prince George's lawmakers introduced legislation in Annapolis last week that would authorize the Maryland Stadium Authority to sell bonds to pay for construction of a 24,000-seat venue at an estimated $180 million to $195 million cost.
MacFarlane said today that the state entity would own the stadium and that the team would pay 25 percent of the cost in the form of rent that he estimated would add up to a $50 million contribution. The remaining 75 percent would be covered by new revenue primarily from ticket sales, he said.
* * *
One by one, Prince George's officials praised the potential economic benefits of a soccer stadium and stressed that the project would not drain scarce public funds. Maryland's General Assembly is grappling with a projected $2 billion budget shortfall for fiscal 2010 and Prince George's is looking close a gap of at least $102 million.
"For those out there concerned about using taxpayer resources, we want to dispel that rumor and put the myth to bed," said Del. Melony Griffith (D-Prince George's), who wore a DC United lapel pin for the occasion.
. . . Legislation by Del. Melony Griffith, D-D.C. authorizes the Maryland Stadium Authority to move ahead with plans for a roughly $180 million state-of-the-art facility.DC United look to Maryland for new stadium.
"This proposal does not require taxpayer dollars," Griffith said.
* * *
Still, not everyone is game with the new plan. Some worry given the economy, taxpayers will be on the hook.
"We have to pay for our basic services: our schools, our police and our fire, but quite frankly I want books not soccer balls in my county," noted Judy Robinson, a stadium opponent.
* * *
. . . "We will bring a significant economic development project without burdening the taxpayers," said Democratic Sen. Anthony Muse of Prince George's County. "Not only are we gaining a new business and professional sport in the county and state, but we are bringing jobs and ongoing economic benefits to our neighborhoods." . . .DCU, Stadium, RFK, Terps
. . . DCU and county officials reiterated, over and over again, that the project would not be financed through the current tax structure. The club is committing 25 percent of the money. . . .
Prohibiting the submission of a specified letter to the Interagency Committee on School Construction without the signatures of the Senate and House chairs of the Prince George's County delegation to the General Assembly; requiring the Board of Public Works to include planning and design as an eligible public school construction or capital improvement cost for Prince George's County; etc.Comment: Provides for delegation leaders to interfere with and micromanage the administration of the school system. Requires additional and unncessary bureaucratic work and expenditures by the county board of public works.
Providing that the elected members of the Prince George's County Board of Education are entitled to health insurance and other fringe benefits provided to the employees of the Board of Education.Comment: Requires diverting scarce funds away from educating or children in order to provide increased benefits for elected officials.
Requiring entities that receive specified direct or indirect funding from the State for a development project located in Prince George's County to comply with specified minority business enterprise goals under specified circumstances; and requiring Prince George's County to conduct a disparity study and report the results to the Prince George's Senate and House delegations of the Maryland General Assembly by December 31, 2010.Comment: Provides for micromanagement of county contracting by general assembly members and staff and requires additional bureaucratic work and expenditures by both the county and state governments.
Authorizing the Prince George's County Board of License Commissioners to issue a wine festival license for the sale of wine at the Prince George's County Wine Festival; establishing licensing requirements; providing for a license fee; requiring the Board to set the date and location for the Festival and to assure that the primary focus of the Festival is the promotion of Maryland wine; etc.Comment: Micromanages and adds to the workload and expenses of the county board of license commissioners.
Requiring that specified small, local, or minority business enterprises receive at least a 20% ownership in specified projects wholly or partially financed through specified bonds in Prince George's County; providing that the ownership requirement does not apply to specified tax-exempt or not-for-profit entities or to specified projects; requiring the County Council of Prince George's County to enact specified local laws; requiring the County Council of Prince George's County to conduct a specified study; etc.Comment: Additional micromanagement of contracting in Prince George's County plus an explicit requirement to increase county bureaucracy and expenditures.
Requiring that 10% of the revenue from the Prince George's County sales and use tax on telecommunications service be used for operating expenditures of the Prince George's Community College; and altering the percentage of the revenues from the Prince George's County sales and use tax on telecommunications service that is required to be used for operating expenses of the Prince George's County school system.
