Looney Labs Something Mailing list Archive

[Something] Berwyn Heights Mayor Targeted in Drug Raid

  • FromAllen Firstenberg <ll@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • DateWed, 30 Jul 2008 16:38:28 -0400
Here is a local news organization's reporting of the story:
  http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0708/540029.html

And here is the mayor's telling of the story:

>>>From: "Cheye Calvo" <ccalvo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>>Date: July 30, 2008 11:42:16 AM EDT
>>>
>>>Subject: Tuesday evening (and night)
>>>
>>>Dear Friends and Neighbors-
>>>        Yesterday evening, as my mother-in-law prepared dinner and  
>>>I changed clothes hurrying to head to a community meeting, a  
>>>heavily-armed county SWAT team burst through our living room door  
>>>and shot and killed both of our dogs. There were loud voices. In  
>>>the sights of two high-caliber weapons, I was ushered downstairs  
>>>in only my boxer shorts before I was bound and forced to kneel on  
>>>the floor. My mother-in-law was bound face down in the kitchen.  
>>>The dead body of my bigger and older dog, Payton, laid in a pool  
>>>of blood on the other side of the living room.
>>>        It was some time before someone spoke to me other than to  
>>>yell orders. I was told there was a warrant but was never shown  
>>>one. After many questions and much anger, I was told that they had  
>>>intercepted a package addressed to our house that contained 32  
>>>pounds of marijuana. The large, white box, which I just had  
>>>retrieved from the front porch, sat unopened on a living room table.
>>>        The county police then proceeded to turn our house upside- 
>>>down. I was moved to the kitchen, where I could see my little dog,  
>>>Chase, lying in his own pool of blood. My mother-in-law watched  
>>>them shoot him while he was running away. After about 90 minutes,  
>>>they finally removed my restraints, which tied my hands behind my  
>>>back. About the same time, Animal Control came to remove our dogs.  
>>>Emotions overtook me; I broke down and sobbed.
>>>        They asked questions. Through my anger, hurt, and  
>>>confusion, I answered them. Trinity came home from work a little  
>>>after 8:00 pm, and they questioned her outside. We both were and  
>>>remain in shock. It does not make sense, but shared what we could.  
>>>About three-and-a-half hours passed before they acknowledged that  
>>>they had found nothing to connect us to the box, but could not be  
>>>100 certain whether or not we were involved. The package alone was  
>>>enough to arrest us all, they said, but they would not so long as  
>>>we continued to cooperate.
>>>        Then they left. The broken front door remained open and  
>>>unsecured. Blood from my dogs was pooled and tracked throughout  
>>>the house. Our belongings were pulled from drawers, closets, and  
>>>trunks and tossed about, piled in the middle of rooms and on  
>>>tables and beds.
>>>        A Berwyn Heights officer on the scene helped me get the  
>>>door shut. Just after midnight, I began to clean up the blood. We  
>>>put a few things back. Trinity and I tried to sleep. Instead, we  
>>>both laid there through the night as disbelief, fear, and anger  
>>>played off one another. We try to make sense of it. They invaded  
>>>our home and killed our dogs! That, above all else, can't be undone.
>>>        A friend came this morning to secure the door. People have  
>>>begun to call, and the outpouring of friendship and support brings  
>>>tears to my eyes. The media calls have begun, as well.
>>>        I wanted to get this out so that you at least hear the  
>>>story from me. This promises to be a lengthy process, which will  
>>>involve telling and re-living this story time and again.  
>>>Hopefully, the healing will begin soon.
>>>
>>>Warm regards,
>>>Cheye  (Mayor of Berwyn Heights
>