Two such cases were those of Tarika Wilson, who was killed while holding her baby, and Cheye Calvo, the mayor of a small Maryland town who had his home raided and two black Labradors killed by local SWAT because a package of marijuana was sent to his house without his knowledge.

A similar incident occurred on Feb. 11 in Columbia, Missouri, resulting in the death of one dog and the shooting of another during a raid on the home of Jonathan Whitworth, who police suspected of selling marijuana. Police stormed into his house and immediately opened fire on the dogs, before they realized that there was a 7-year-old child in the house.  A grinder, a pipe, and a small amount of marijuana were found, but no evidence of distribution.

Watch the video below, keeping in mind that police later tried to charge Whitworth with child endangerment, as if having a little marijuana in the home is more dangerous to a child’s wellbeing than storming into their house with automatic weapons and killing their dogs.

Spokesperson Officer Jessie Haden defended the decision to commence the raid without verifying who was in the home by saying, “If you let too much time go by, then the drugs are not there.”  Well they weren’t.  But no one paid too much attention until the video surfaced that showed the raid in detail. Now people are paying attention.

It’s a little sad that it requires graphic video of dogs yelping as they die and a child being rushed out the door to get people to ask questions about something that happens all too often in every state in this country because of the government’s war on marijuana.

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Here’s The Washington Post’s summary of the incident that occurred last July:

Members of the SWAT team killed [Cheye] Calvo’s black Labrador retrievers after deputies broke down his door and raided his home in search of a drug-filled package that had been addressed to Calvo’s wife.

Law enforcement officials have since acknowledged that Calvo and his wife, Trinity Tomsic, were victims of a smuggling scheme that used a FedEx driver to ship drugs. They said the couple knew nothing about the box. County police, who were leading the drug investigation, have said they were unaware it was the mayor’s house.

Some drug investigation. PG County cops failed to even Google Calvo to determine whom they might be dealing with. They also neglected to coordinate with the sheriff in Berwyn Heights, the small D.C. suburb where Calvo served as mayor, who said he could have cleared this up with a simple visit to Calvo’s home.

Yet PG County Sheriff Michael Jackson insists his investigation proves “what I’ve felt all along: My deputies did their job to the fullest extent of their abilities.”

Actually, maybe Jackson’s right. I’ve made this point before, but if his deputies did their jobs the best they could, then maybe it’s time to change the policies that shape their jobs.

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