The drug raid at the residence of Cheye Calvo, then-mayor of Berwyn Heights, Maryland, was a controversial action taken by the Prince George's County Sheriff's Office and Police Department on July 29, 2008.
The raid was the culmination of an investigation that began in Arizona, where a package containing 32 pounds (15 kg) of marijuana was intercepted in a warehouse, addressed to the mayor's residence.
Upon arrival, a SWAT team raided the house and held Calvo and his mother-in-law at gunpoint, and shot and killed his two dogs, one as it attempted to run away.
"[1] On July 29, 2008, a SWAT team from the Sheriff's Office, agents of the State of Maryland, executing a search warrant and assisting the separate County Police, conducted a raid on the home of Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo.
[12] Chief of Police Melvin High called the Calvos "innocent victims" who were caught up in the drug trafficking ring.
"[1] During the interrogation, Calvo repeatedly requested to see the search warrant, but his lawyer stated no copy was provided until three days later.
[17] During interrogation, Calvo stated that officers did not believe he was the Mayor and for a time refused his request that they contact the Berwyn Heights Police Department (which was unaware of the raid) to confirm his identity.
[3] Additionally, groups such as the Cato Institute were critical of the operation and used it as an example of the dangers of the War on Drugs and the militarization of local police departments in the United States.
Contrary to the official internal investigations conducted by the sheriff's office and the county, Calvo stated his dogs were not a threat to the deputies.
[21] Prince George's County Police later arrested two men in a drug trafficking plan involving the shipment of large parcels of marijuana to addresses of uninvolved residents.
[9] On June 19, 2009, the Prince George's County Sheriff's Office issued a report of an internal investigation that cleared its deputies of any wrongdoing in the Berwyn Heights raid.
Prince George's County Sheriff Michael Jackson said during a press conference that the findings of the report "are consistent with what I've felt all along: My deputies did their job to the fullest extent of their abilities....In the sense that we kept these drugs from reaching our streets, this operation was a success.
"[22] Jackson's explanation did not address the fact that the package was intercepted in the FedEx warehouse and delivered under police supervision.