Police brutality concerns aired at forum

Varying degrees of quiet outrage simmered at an ACLU forum on law enforcement June 15, with panelists and attendees agreeing on one fundamental matter: Something was very wrong with the Prince George's County Police.

About 60 people, none of whom appeared to be college age, attended the annual "Who is policing you? Past, present and future" forum hosted by the Prince George's County and Montgomery County chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union. The discussion centered around the argument that county police could not be trusted to adequately perform an internal review of improper conduct.

Two of the three panelists, Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo and private investigator Sharon Weidenfeld, used their time to argue for outside oversight of county police, while Sgt. Rafael Hylton from the Prince George's County Sheriff's Office alternated between saying, "We have to fix it" and claiming the internal affairs system was working.

Many attendees said the unique docket of panelists was what drew them to the forum: Calvo made international headlines when a SWAT team raided his home and shot his family's two dogs. Calvo and his wife were accused of being involved in a drug smuggling ring — charges that were later proved to be completely false. He spoke mostly about the perceived overuse of the SWAT "paramilitary units" in the county but also spoke at length, being politely cut off by organizers several times, about the lack of independent oversight.

"The police can't oversee themselves any better than the banks can or the oil companies can," Calvo said after the forum. "That's the situation we have now."

Weidenfeld is investigating whether police brutality occurred during the riot that followed the March 3 Duke game on behalf of several students injured that night.

Public opinion thus far has been split between those who charge police with inappropriate use of force and others who say students acted unreasonably and posed a threat to public safety. Weidenfeld supported Calvo's arguments throughout the discussion.

"The officers know there's no accountability," said Weidenfeld, who has been working as a private investigator since the 1980s. "It's the police policing the police."

Hylton, a retired Prince George's County police officer with 33 years of service, was a major draw for the event, attendees said, because it's rare for a member of law enforcement to be at forums on police conduct. Calvo said it was the first time a member of the sheriff's department had voluntarily shared a stage with him.

Hylton, who is running for county sheriff, repeatedly said "something went wrong" with police accountability over previous decades, but he shook hands more than he answered questions, and he offered no concrete plans to reform the system. At times, he attempted to defend the current system of investigations.

"We will not permit this type of behavior," Hylton said, before extolling the virtues of an internal affairs system many feel does not put citizens first, giving the benefit of the doubt to officers whose actions may effectively go unchecked. After the talk, he elaborated and said that if elected, he would encourage county leaders to "sit down and talk about what's happening."

David Lange, a 74-year-old Bowie resident, wasn't satisfied with some of the answers voiced during the discussion.

"I'm still astounded at the abuse of power by the Prince George's County Police and Sheriff's Department. ... There was a very stark dichotomy tonight," said Lange, who attends the university under the Golden ID program, which allows state retirees to take classes.

Calvo called the system of internal investigation a "joke" and said it was "not a real process," adding that responsible oversight is key even in systems that function well.

"If you don't have that in any system, you're going to have problems," he said. "In a troubled system like Prince George's County, you can't even turn the corner."

Weidenfeld agreed, referencing a video that surfaced after the riot of university student John McKenna being beaten by police.

"If they're beating university students with nightsticks while cameras are rolling," Weidenfeld said, "what are they doing elsewhere in the county?"

rabdill at umdbk dot com