None of us is safe from police raids

None of us is safe from police raids -- baltimoresun.com

Prince George's County case offers a window into the brutal reality of paramilitary-style no-knock drug invasions

By Vera Leone

Imagine you're Cheye Calvo, the white mayor of Berwyn Heights, an affluent part of Prince George's County. Coming home one night in late July, you find on your front porch a large package that, unbeknownst to you, happens to contain a lot of marijuana. As it turns out, your spouse is the victim of a drug-smuggling scheme that targets innocent customers in the UPS system. You bring the box inside; moments later, the SWAT officers standing by break in and shoot your two beautiful Labradors. As the dogs lie there bleeding to death, you're held in the same room, handcuffed for hours. Nearly a month later, you have yet to receive an apology.

Because of who he is, the nation knows what happened to Mr. Calvo a few weeks ago. Here's what most Americans don't know: There are perhaps 40,000 such raids each year, according to a Cato Institute report, "Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America."

Now try to imagine that instead of a middle-class white man in the Maryland suburbs, you're a young Latino boy in Modesto, Calif. Shortly before dawn, in early September 2000, a SWAT team forces its way into your house. Thirty seconds later, although you comply with police orders to lie face down on the floor, you are dead from a shotgun blast to the back. The officer responsible is later cleared of wrongdoing in what is concluded an accidental shooting - though it was not the first time his weapon had "accidentally" discharged during a raid. Alberto Sepulveda had just begun the seventh grade.

Newsvine - Restraining order sought against police at RNC after independent journalists repeatedly targeted.

Lawyer and advocacy groups gathered in front of the Hennepin County Government Center this afternoon to request temporary restraining orders against police before the Republican National Convention kicks off on Monday. The request is due to a concern over increased incidences of unlawful seizure of media equipment being utilized by independent media groups and journalists. The legal order is aimed at preventing police to seize equipment such as video and still cameras, audio recording devices, and cell phones that may have these features.