TheAgitator.com
Maryland House Passes SWAT Transparency Bill
Monday, March 30th, 2009Delegates adopted a bill, on a 126 to 9 vote, that would require law enforcement agencies to report every six months on their use of SWAT teams, including what kinds of warrants the teams serve and whether any animals are killed during raids. The bill was prompted by the case of Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo, whose two black Labrador retrievers were shot and killed during a botched raid by a Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team in July.
The Maryland Senate has already passed a similar bill, and there don’t seem to be any foreseeable problems merging the two.
It’s nice that they passed it, but I’d like to see what the reports are used for before I get too excited. I hate to be cynical, but I don’t like the chances of any real reform coming out of this. I have a hard time imagining any politician(or news reporter) reading the report and concluding that “This is too much, We have to rein this in”. I don’t even have faith that the reporting will be accurate and not manipulated by using methods that are technically not “SWAT” raid.
Do we have any Maryland folks out there who can tell us what the chances are that the governor will sign the bill, whether such a signature is necessary under Maryland law, and whether it is likely the legislature will (if it can) override any refusal by the governor to sign?
Isn’t this the bill with the semantics problem where all they have to do is change what they call the team to circumvent the whole thing?
I don’t even have faith that the reporting will be accurate and not manipulated by using methods that are technically not “SWAT” raid.
No doubt. What’s needed is an independent, “civilian” office in charge of monitoring and reporting on police activities, SWAT or otherwise.
If there’s one area in which the police actually should be more like the military, it’s accountability to a civilian leadership. It seems like in most cities the police unions/lobbyists have more political power than the elected leaders they supposedly answer to. Obviously you have that problem with the military too, but that’s more a product of the massive spending that goes into it than it is personal celebrity or union clout.
#2
It would seem the vote count, 126-9, would make the question of the governors signature kinda moot. Even if he comes out against it, they’ll override. This is great news and hopefully start a trend. Mayor Calvo, if he’s up to it, could turn his misfortune into something very good.
Good news indeed. My congratulations to Mayor Calvo for the work he has put into this. I hope this is just the first of many victories to come in Maryland and across the nation.
Okay… so, “law enforcement agencies” — long well-known for their facility with the facts and truth — will now be mandated to do twice a year essentially what Radley has been doing here every day.
The credulity in this place very often astounds me.
Good news from a legislative standpoint.
The police will likely ignore it entirely.
The real question is how to get some accountability to the cops to deter the pointless application of these raids.
While Mayor Calvo may care about reporting on Police Puppycide, I’m much more concerned with the trauma inflicted on the HUMAN victims of police home invasions, a.k.a. No-Knock Raids.
Is there is any measurement of how many Maryland residents are killed or injured in a given year by such aggressive police raids?
I suspect that even if residents are not killed outright, when police grab and body slam residents to the floor, severe orthopedic and soft tissue injuries ensue.
I see video recordings of police routinely STANDING with their heavy boots on people’s necks and backs. How many severe, permanent injuries result annually from these hyper-aggressive police “procedures”?
Ditto #1, they just rebrand their SWAT teams to avoid reporting.
#7 Billy Beck: “The credulity in this place very often astounds me.”
On The Agitator? Credulity? I think you’re overstating your case a little bit. Acknowledging small steps doesn’t equal credulity in my book, Billy. I don’t think anyone here believes this kind of law is a panacea. I certainly don’t think I sounded all that credulous in my first comment (#6).
I think most of us are just happy for Calvo and glad that these issues are being raised more often in legislatures and in the media. There is a whole lot of grey area between silly credulity and utter despair. I’m sorry if you are too far gone to realize that, but there is no need to insult a group of reasonably well-informed citizens who probably share many of the same goals that you do.
cue the pigs whining about how us stupid civilians just made their lives more dangerous, and how if we’re in some kind of trouble not to call them in 3, 2, 1….
Has PETA infiltrated the legislature? The big concerns are what kinds of warrants and whether any animals were harmed?
What about personal property, like doors, windows, furniture. What about children traumitized? How about kids slapped around or wives abused by the entry? How about erroneous locations?
They’re worried about pets?
Symbol over substance again.
av-”The police will likely ignore it entirely.
The real question is how to get some accountability to the cops to deter the pointless application of these raids.”
Exactly! Its gotten to the point where these legislative acts are nothing more than mere symbolism. Nobody’s gonna hold the police accountable.
# 13 Ed Rasimus: Obviously pets killed aren’t the only statistics that will be reported. Those stats will include what kinds of warrants the teams serve and whether any animals are killed during raids, but will not be limited to those things.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but the first cop to testify in the Ryan Frederick case (Captain James Dunlap), stated that the raid on Mr. Frederick’s house was conducted by “Special Investigations” not “SWAT.”
There were 15 of them (most of whom did double duty as members of the “SWAT” team), they were heavily armed, wore helmets and vests, and conducted the raid in standard SWAT formation and procedure – BUT, because they were dressed in civilian clothes which did not have “SWAT” emblazoned on it, front and back, and they weren’t wearing ski-masks, it wasn’t a SWAT raid…
Please…
“I think most of us are just happy for Calvo and glad that these issues are being raised more often in legislatures and in the media.”
Then, “most of” you are easily placated.
I’m not.
Are these reports going to be held to the same high standard as the NHTSA’s reports on drunk driving deaths? If so they will be useless.
Did you guys see the video on youtube titled: Transparency Debate with Mike Miller and Nancy Jacobs in the Maryland Senate In that video Senate President Mike Miller strips out parts of a bill that you will never see happen. Follow this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGJsciUT6mU and then after you watch that video send this video to every news agency on the State, Send this video to The Maryland Independence Party, The Maryland Libertarian Party, The Maryland Green Party, The Maryland Republican Party and its County Parties, and to everyone you know in this state. Yes Mike Miller is a thug. With this Video I hope someone runs against him and defeat the State Senate President just like Leroy Myers ran against Former Speaker of the House Cas Taylor.