More Aftermath Bumbling in the Cheye Calvo Raid

Radley Balko | November 5, 2008

Cheye Calvo, you'll remember, is the Berwyn Heights, Maryland mayor whose home was mistakenly raided by Prince George's County, Maryland police. Calvo's two black labs were shot and killed, and he and his mother-in-law were bound at gunpoint for hours, even after it was clear that the police had made a mistake. The raid came after police intercepted a package of marijuana sent to Calvo's address through a delivery service. Police conducted no additional investigation before sweeping in with the SWAT team.

When asked about Calvo's case in an interview a local newspaper last month, Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson offered up a truly bewildering response:

Johnson said he didn't think an apology was necessary and said he has not spoken with Calvo about the incident.

"Well, I think in America that is the apology, when we're cleared," he said. "The authorities have to be able to follow evidence. Sometimes we realize that people are victimized. … At the end of the day, the investigation showed he was not involved. And that's, you know, a pat on the back for everybody involved, I think."

He expressed condolences for Calvo's pets but said he understood the actions of law enforcement.

"I try putting myself in the situation of the sheriff who entered the house," he said. "They had one set of information at the time. … The thing we have to do is make sure those incidents don't happen again."

I'm having a hard time comprehending what sort of mindset you'd need to have to come to the conclusion that Calvo's innocence equates to "a pat on the back for everybody involved." As for making sure incidents like what happened to Calvo "don't happen again," the utter cluelessness of politicians like Jack Johnson is precisely why they do keep happening. Over and over. It also likely factors into why Johnson presides over the county with one of the worst police misconduct records in the country.

I last wrote about Calvo's case in response to a Milwaukee police detective who had defended the raid in a letter to the editor of National Review.

Help Reason celebrate its next 40 years. Donate Now!

Try Reason's award-winning print edition today! Your first issue is FREE if you are not completely satisfied.

Fluffy|11.5.08 @ 3:53PM|#

"Well, I think in America that is the apology, when we're cleared,"

Right, because the difference in Calvo's experience between what would have occurred if they served this search warrant in the traditional way, and his experience in the no-knock SWAT search, doesn't count.

As long as they let him go at the end, it's all the same to Johnson, and no one should complain.

|11.5.08 @ 3:57PM|#

I would just like to say right now that Jack Johnson molests his children and is a main supplier of child porn to the DC area. If he doesn't think that is correct, he can prove himself innocent. If he does, I won't owe him an apology because in America the apology is that you are cleared.

|11.5.08 @ 3:58PM|#

Well, I think in America that is the apology, when we're cleared

This actually makes no sense.

Ska|11.5.08 @ 3:58PM|#

Exactly where I was looking Fluffy.

So, Mr. Johnson, or should I just call you Dick, in America the apology is not prosecuting and imprisoning the innocent. Well, in this case at least.

anarch|11.5.08 @ 3:59PM|#

Mayor gets a pat on the back for not being a drug-dealer, of course! Win-win.

he and his mother-in-law were bound at gunpoint for hours, even after it was clear that the police had made a mistake

Well, that's just when they'd start to be most dangerous to release - when it's clear than they'd suffered unjustly, and they'd be hella mad. I don't know how the cops ever had the courage to uncuff them after that.

No Name Guy|11.5.08 @ 3:59PM|#

Well, Jack Johnson joins with the letter writing detective at winning this "Biggest Douchbag" award. Congrats, assholes.

|11.5.08 @ 4:02PM|#

Well, I've heard this kind of thing said by conservative attorneys: "If we're going to profess any faith in the criminal justice system, there should be no restitution for the wrongly convicted". Frankly speaking, I understand the logic and if we were dealing in the abstract, yeah, sure.

But like Fluffy said, the horrendousness of the experience deserves compassion and a sense of justice, not a "meh. System works...sometimes not."

|11.5.08 @ 4:03PM|#

When is Jack Johnson up again for re-election/ re-appointment? I'm in the DC area and can make time to assist in removing this douche from power.

|11.5.08 @ 4:08PM|#

What sucks even more is that PG County is a predominately black community. They have a black country exectutive who endorses the very tactics that victimize the black community most. My God.

"Well, I think in America that is the apology, when we're cleared," he said.

No, it's when the jury returns a multi-million $$$ judgment against your worthless excuse for an ethical and well-functioning county government and police force.

At a minimum, Calvo should be able to kick Johnson and the police chief each in the dick. At that point, even I could walk away, saying "apology accepted."

NM, I RTFA.

Head|11.5.08 @ 4:09PM|#

Well, I think in America that is the apology, when we're cleared

No, actually it makes perfect sense - He thought that HE WAS THE ONE DESERVING OF AN APOLOGY.

|11.5.08 @ 4:11PM|#

When is Jack Johnson up again for re-election/ re-appointment?

I believe he's already on his 2nd term, which makes him ineligible to run again for county exec. Besides, this is just a warm-up for his destiny to be the first black governor of Maryland.

Yes, be afraid. Be very, very afraid.

NM, I RTFA.

Ah, never mind me too then....

anarch|11.5.08 @ 4:13PM|#

But JW, while you're absolutely right from the victims' point of view, until we find better ways to fund this stuff, it's the taxpayers who would be penalized.

Just Plain Brian|11.5.08 @ 4:16PM|#

Would they be the same taxpayers who voted this douchebag into power in the first place?

anarch|11.5.08 @ 4:18PM|#

Just Plain, only some of them.

Naga Sadow|11.5.08 @ 4:19PM|#

Oh, a pat on the back huh? What a dick!

Just Plain Brian|11.5.08 @ 4:21PM|#

anarch, I'm with you that it wouldn't be the justice we really want, but it's better than nothing.

Sort of like punishing the entire platoon because private pile won't stop eating those fucking doughnuts - eventually the rest of them will torture pile until he kills himself (strictly a metaphor, you understand)

|11.5.08 @ 4:22PM|#

it's the taxpayers who would be penalized.

And rightly so. Taxpayers are the ones who can fix this, and yet continue to unleash police power on each other.

anarch|11.5.08 @ 4:24PM|#

Has that strategy worked in any instances? (Serious question)

|11.5.08 @ 4:27PM|#

But JW, while you're absolutely right from the victims' point of view, until we find better ways to fund this stuff, it's the taxpayers who would be penalized.

Very true, which is why I had Plan B in there. Repeated and violent kicks to the dick. I could live with expanding that to not only Johnson and the chief, but to anyone directly involved. We'll obviously have to modify that somewhat for the vet appointment-making female detective.

Of course, I'll bet you some of those tyrannical shitbags get off on the tramplin'.

|11.5.08 @ 4:29PM|#

Well, I think in America that is the apology, when we're cleared

Cuz in America we are all presumed guilty.

|11.5.08 @ 4:33PM|#

Well, I think in America that is the apology, when we're cleared

This actually makes no sense.

Consider the source.

It's no worse than the useual circular argument you get when you ask a cop to justify the WoD.

Q: "Why are drugs illegal?"

A: "Because they cause harm."

Q: "Why are drugs harmful?"

A: "Because they're illegal."

Q: "WTF?"

it's the taxpayers who would be penalized.

I would argue that taxpayers are already being penalized in the form of having to live in PG County.

PG County is one of those places that it's better to be from.

Just Plain Brian|11.5.08 @ 4:38PM|#

That is an excellent question, and I don't personally know. I just think the flaw isn't that certain people have immunity when they are working in a capacity that they represent the public, it's that there isn't a compensation of responsibility. If he represents the public, then either he should pay for his mistakes, or the public he represents should, but under no circumstances should there be no one held responsible for the fuck-ups that harm others.

EscapedWestOfTheBigMuddy|11.5.08 @ 4:46PM|#

Well, I think in America that is the apology, when we're cleared

This actually makes no sense.

Consider the source.

No, I'm with Art-P.O.G. I doesn't make sense. Not that it is wrong or fallacious, but that it doesn't seem to represent a complete thought of any kind at all.

Or am I failing to parse some kind of colloquialism?

|11.5.08 @ 4:48PM|#

It's okay, I speak Government Jive. Translating his statement into English, he said, "All your rights are belong to us."

EscapedWestOfTheBigMuddy|11.5.08 @ 4:50PM|#

I doesn't make sense

Serves me right for complaining about someone else's language.

It doesn't make sense.

It

|11.5.08 @ 4:53PM|#

I will also argue that virtually nothing will ever change the behavior of both the political class and the thugs in the police force of PG County, but at a minimum, Calvo deserves compensation for his "experience."

The people in charge will never allow themselves to be exposed to any kind of liability and the voters in PG refuse to act on any meaningful change to their guvmint, despite a substantial black middle class population, one that didn't exist when I was growing up there. You would expect with a wealthier population, they would demand better leadership, but no.

So, fuck 'em. (Even though I'll most likely get stuck with the bill too...)

|11.5.08 @ 4:56PM|#

This is why I have continued to say we need "anon" calls placed to the police about certain people doing certain things.

If they aren't actually doing those things they have nothing to fear and will get their apology when they are cleared of the charges.

If this same scenario happens to enough of the right people this shit would stop. Till then, expect more of the same without apology.

matt2|11.5.08 @ 5:02PM|#

No, actually it makes perfect sense - He thought that HE WAS THE ONE DESERVING OF AN APOLOGY.

This is right. Read it again - the guy has the nerve, when asked if an apology was due, to assume that the cops under investigation were the ones who would be receiving said apology (for investigating, I guess).

That makes it even worse. Way, way worse, in my opinion.

LarryA|11.5.08 @ 5:07PM|#

The thing we have to do is make sure those incidents don't happen again.

Anyone want to bet that Johnson's plan to prevent such incidents consists solely of checking warrants against a list of people influential enough to raise a stink?

|11.5.08 @ 5:08PM|#

If they aren't actually doing those things they have nothing to fear and will get their apology when they are cleared of the charges.

But, they aren't getting the apology now....

Nope. Someone's going to need to die before this changes. Maybe a handsome and upstanding family.

|11.5.08 @ 5:14PM|#

Johnson is just bummed that they were innocent... because there are no assets to plunder now.

It's amazing how some people rationalize the so-called legitimacy of prosecuting a war against their own people.

They have a black country exectutive who endorses the very tactics that victimize the black community most.

Yeah, but Calvo is a honky, so it's all OK.

Kolohe|11.5.08 @ 5:15PM|#

Well, I think in America that is the apology, when we're cleared

It's missing a comma, at least, and that's why it's so difficult to parse.

"Well, I think in America, that *is* the apology - when we're cleared."

or in other words, he's saying that "When a person is cleared of a crime, that serves as the apology in this country."

Just Plain Brian|11.5.08 @ 5:16PM|#

If this same scenario happens to enough of the right people this shit would stop.

While I agree with the basic idea, you don't have to be a genius (which means cops are still eligible) to know when you're in the "high-rent" part of town, and I'd wager that when responding to a call in the wealthy neighborhoods the police are much, much, much more likely to double-check their information than when they respond to one in the "low-rent" part of town.

Doesn't make your scheme unworkable, but it still means you probably have to call 10X or more calls in the "good" neighborhoods than they already get for the "bad" neighborhoods just to achieve some sort of parity.

TallDave|11.5.08 @ 5:24PM|#

Somehere, a couple of clever drug dealers are laughing their asses off over this.

A pretty good investment on their part, I'd say.

"The authorities have to be able to follow evidence. Sometimes we realize that people are victimized. … At the end of the day, the investigation showed he was not involved. And that's, you know, a pat on the back for everybody involved, I think."

----- trsnslation -----

"I'd rather shoot a thousand innocent dogs than allow someone to profit from a consensual transaction the gov't has deemed illegal."

Heh, this is as incoherent as leftists defending socialism.

|11.5.08 @ 5:41PM|#

I hope you send your articles on government
misconduct to the officials involved.

|11.5.08 @ 5:44PM|#

It works every time: Whenever SWAT is rolled out, it adds to the billable hours for the program and that justifies additional funds being allocated for SWAT maintenance and expansion.

Oh ... did you mean "work" as in accomplishing something other than continuing to justify taxpayer fund grabs? I don't have that data, but it's kind of irrelevant to SWAT and those departments that feel that having a military-style battalion is a good idea for small town police departments.

[A grammatical side note: I believe SWAT raids are a "tactic" being used to execute the Scorched Earth "strategy" of the WoD.]

Obama Voter|11.5.08 @ 5:49PM|#

"I won't have to worry about being arrested for drugs, I won't have to worry about paying my student loans."

|11.5.08 @ 5:57PM|#

Proposed:

In this local jurisdiction (city, county, state, whatever), that:

When this jurisdiction is sued due to the actions of appointmented members, administrators, or contractors, of government, and

A civil judgment is levied against this jurisdiction,

Let it be resolved that:

The persons responsible for the actions leading to said judgment shall be kicked in the genitals repeatedly, fired from their jobs, and branded upon the forehead with a capital "A", standing for "asshole".

|11.5.08 @ 6:06PM|#

John-David,

I say "yea".

Advocatus diaboli|11.5.08 @ 6:09PM|#

Ah, but the government is capable of wrongful convictions...

|11.5.08 @ 6:28PM|#

Prince George's County police killed their eighth person of this year on Monday, November 3. This time it was someone attempting to carjack an on-duty undercover narcotics cop. The most recent previous case involved a moonlighting off-duty cop who brutally beat and then shot a drunk in front of his home and family.

No Name Guy|11.5.08 @ 6:31PM|#

The idea mentioned in the thread of "if this only happened to the right (asshole) political types, this shit would stop". Along those lines........

Send a package (heck, how about a stamped envelope) of some 'cheap', low grade reefer, not well wrapped mind you, so the smell is pretty obvious to all but the dumbest dope dog, to these jerk political types. Package is delivered, SWAT kicks down the door of said person, shoots their dogs, yadda, yadda, yadda.......idiot political type gets an first hand education on the thuggish enforecement of the WoD.

But of course, I suppose, as was mentioned above, they'd be a bit more careful in the rich parts of town.

EscapedWestOfTheBigMuddy|11.5.08 @ 6:58PM|#

"Well, I think in America, that *is* the apology - when we're cleared."

or in other words, he's saying that "When a person is cleared of a crime, that serves as the apology in this country."

This reading feels strained, but take it as given.

Who is "we" here. It reads like he means himself (or perhaps the officers involved), in which case he has answered the wrong question.

If he actually means Calvo, then he is trying to claim that he (or the police officers) are on the same side as the guy they offended. Really?

And in either case he is simply wrong. Once cleared Calvo is owed compensation and appologies from each of the decision makers who should have stopped it. Abject, public appologies.

JLE|11.5.08 @ 7:26PM|#

Bush put this power-hungry mindset into overdrive. The drug thugs are basically invincible, and they know it. A good reason not to ban guns.

|11.5.08 @ 7:57PM|#

They have a black country exectutive who endorses the very tactics that victimize the black community most.

The unthinking acceptance of prohibition and all that flows from it is hardly an eclusively white thing. AA politicians see the damage that prohibition causes and attribute it to white powder. It's kinda sad.

Nathan A. Stine|11.5.08 @ 8:22PM|#

No worry here.

The voters will replace Jack Johnson with his bitter rival, John Jackson.

|11.5.08 @ 9:21PM|#

Hey, where's Juanita?

tarran|11.5.08 @ 10:45PM|#

Nathan,

Which one has the 5% titanium tax that doesn't go too far enough?

I always forget...

bill|11.7.08 @ 4:03AM|#

Uh, his home wasn't "mistakenly" raided, it was "intentionally" raided. Maybe "ridiculously" raided. Possibly "fraudulently" raided.

Reason Magazine

Get Reason E-mail Updates!

Site comments/questions:

Media Inquiries and Reprint Permissions:

Editorial & Production Offices:

advertisements