Berwyn Heights Mayor Fights for SWAT Oversight After Dogs' Deaths

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- A Maryland mayor whose two black Labradors were killed in a botched SWAT mission is pushing the state legislature for a measure that would help prevent the same thing happen to his new black Labs.

In the summer, Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo's dogs -- Payton and Chase -- were killed when police raided his house after finding more than 30 pounds of marijuana delivered to his home. The Calvos were not the intended recipients.

At first, Calvo thought it was a terrible mistake, he said, but since then, he has heard from other victims of botched raids and realized it's a troubling trend.

Calvo hopes a bill pending in the Maryland General Assembly will shed some light on SWAT abuses. He is championing legislation that would provide some oversight to SWAT teams.

If passed by the House and Senate, the legislation would have the teams report on the number, location and results of deployments. Those trends would be analyzed, and an annual governor's report would be issued.
 

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