POLICE CHIEF EXPRESSES REGRET OVER DRUG RAID

Prince George's County police Chief Melvin C. High said yesterday
that a suburban Washington mayor and his wife were "innocent victims
of drug traffickers" and expressed regret for the loss of the
couple's dogs during a raid on his home last week.

Meanwhile, the FBI has opened an investigation into the actions of
the county police officers who burst into the house of Berwyn Heights
Mayor Cheye Calvo and shot the dogs. Calvo and his mother-in-law were
handcuffed after the officers mistakenly suspected he was involved in
shipping marijuana to his home.

Special Agent Richard Wolf, a spokesman for the FBI's Baltimore field
office, said the agency has opened a civil rights investigation upon
the request of Calvo. He said the investigation will monitor the
internal probe that the Prince George's County Police Department has
begun into police conduct during last week's raid on Calvo's home.

Cpl. Stephen Pacheco, a county police spokesman, said the agency has
begun a review of the incident that is common in cases where force is
used by police, "to make sure everything was done correctly."

In a statement released yesterday, High said: "The Calvo family
members were the apparent victims of a local drug ring. I called him
to express my sorrow and regret for that and for the loss of the
family's beloved dogs."

High stopped short of apologizing for the actions of the officers,
according to the Associated Press.

Last week, county police officers barged into the home with a warrant
after they intercepted a package of marijuana addressed to the
mayor's wife, Trinity Tomsic.

This week, Prince George's county police arrested two men who they
said had orchestrated a plot to deliver hundreds of pounds of
marijuana to several unsuspecting residents in the area, which they
would then intercept in an effort to avoid detection by law enforcement.