20080806 Calvo’s Counsel’s statement

20080806 Calvo’s Counsel’s statement

Joseph
Greenwald
& Laake

Attorneys at Law Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A.
6404 Ivy Lane · Suite 400 Greenbelt, Maryland 20770
(301) 220-2200 · Fax (301) 220-1214
www.jgllaw.com

Timothy F. Maloney
Direct Dial: (240) 553-1206
Direct Fax: (240) 553-1748
Email: TMaloney@jgllaw.com

August 6, 2008

This statement was released today by Timothy F. Maloney, counsel for Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo and his wife, Trinity Tomsic:

These arrests confirm that Trinity Tomsic was a random victim of identity theft at the hands of major drug traffickers. This crime was compounded by law enforcement when it illegally invaded the Calvo home, tied up the mayor and his mother-in-law, and killed the family dogs. The suggestion that Mayor Calvo’s mother-in-law’s reaction to seeing a SWAT team in her front yard justified an illegal no-knock entry is outrageous.

The statement that the Calvo family dogs were threatening law enforcement is demonstrably false. The killing of the family dogs was premeditated. The deputies were aware of the presence of the dogs and began firing immediately upon entering the house. One dog, Chase, was shot in the back while running away in the rear of the house. The second dog, Payton, was shot where he was found, some distance from the front door.

Mayor Calvo and his wife are outraged that law enforcement appears to be blaming the victims for this outrageous invasion into their home. Innocent citizens have a right to be safe and secure in their homes, especially from the very officers who are sworn to protect them. Two beloved and innocent dogs are dead. Two innocent people were tied up. Three innocent people had their reputations unfairly impugned by law enforcement incompetence.

Since this incident occurred, the Calvos have received reports of similar misconduct involving entry into the homes of other innocent County citizens. The defensive statements today by the leadership of both agencies demonstrates that the Sheriff’s Department and the County Police Department have already reached their own conclusions in this case without ever speaking with members of the Calvo family about what happened to them. It is clear that neither agency can conduct an independent review into the law enforcement misconduct that occurred here, nor are they willing to review their policies involving no-knock entry and the killing of innocent family pets.

The Calvos will be holding a press conference tomorrow, August 7, 2008 at 2 p.m. at their residence at 8522 Edmonston Road, Berwyn Heights, Md.

####

Attorneys at Law Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A.
6404 Ivy Lane · Suite 400 Greenbelt, Maryland 20770
(301) 220-2200 · Fax (301) 220-1214
www.jgllaw.com

FRED R. JOSEPH (1943-1997) ANDREW E. GREENWALD WALTER E. LAAKE, JR. STEPHEN A. FRIEDMAN BURT M. KAHN MICHAEL D. JACKLEY STEVEN M. PAVSNER BARBARA A. JORGENSON TIMOTHY F. MALONEY DAVID BULITT DOV APFEL JAY P. HOLLAND TIMOTHY P. O'BRIEN JERRY D. MILLER STEVEN B. VINICK PAUL F. RIEKHOF CARY J. HANSEL LAWRENCE R. HOLZMAN BRIAN J. MARKOVITZ VERONICA BYAM NANNIS DAVID S. COAXUM AMY L. PELLICIOTTA JASON L. LEVINE ROBB A. LONGMAN SHANNON L. HAMMOND REGINA L. SCHOWALTER DARA B. GRUNDFAST JOSEPH M. CREED KOUSHIK BHATTACHARYA NAKIA V. GRAY Of Counsel: BARBARA E. PALMER

_____

Related:
20080801 Berwyn Heights mayor’s home invaded dog shot

20080730 WJLA: Berwyn Heights Mayor Targeted in Drug Raid

20080731 Washington Post: Police Raid Berwyn Heights Mayors Home Kill His 2 Dogs

20080807 ABC 7 News: “Statement of Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo”

20080730 Berwyn Heights Mayor suffers home invasion dogs shot, Law and Order Lunacy, MD municipality Berwyn Heights, People MD Calvo – Cheye Calvo

More: Here, here, and here.

20080807 ABC 7 News: “Statement of Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo”

20080807 ABC 7 News: “Statement of Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo”

ABC 7 News - Statement of Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo

http://cfc.wjla.com/external.cfm?p=calvo080708

WJLA News Search Results for 'Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo'

Friday 08/08/08 8:22pm
Mayor and Wife Exonerated in Drug Smuggling Scheme

Thursday 08/07/08 7:07pm
FBI Opens Civil Rights Case in Mayor's Home Raid

Wednesday 08/06/08 8:27pm
Police: Two Arrested in Marijuana Shipping Plot; Raid on Mayor's Home Defended

Wednesday 07/30/08 6:33pm
Berwyn Heights Mayor Targeted in Drug Raid

Related: 20080801 Berwyn Heights mayor’s home invaded dog shot

20080730 WJLA: Berwyn Heights Mayor Targeted in Drug Raid

20080730 Berwyn Heights Mayor suffers home invasion dogs shot, Law and Order Lunacy, MD municipality Berwyn Heights, People MD Calvo – Cheye Calvo

More: Here, here, and here.

ABC 7 News - Statement of Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo

http://cfc.wjla.com/external.cfm?p=calvo080708

August 7, 2008

Thank you for coming today to our home. Trinity, her mom, Georgia, and I are very pleased that two arrests have been made and that a large quantity of drugs have been seized.

It is a great relief to us to be removed from the glare of suspicion. We knew we were not involved. Our friends, neighbors, and community knew we were not involved.

But people who didn't know us did not really know what to think. Apparently, based on yesterday's statement, the Prince George's County Police Chief still doesn't know what to think. But I think the rest of the world now knows what happened, and we are relieved that the truth has finally come out.

Trinity was an innocent and random victim of identity theft. Apparently, so were four or five other County residents whose names and addresses were stolen, and used as addressees on drug packages. However, Trinity and our family have not been treated as victims of a crime.

Instead, our home was invaded. Our two beloved Labrador retrievers are dead. My mother-in-law and I were tied up for nearly two hours. A shadow was cast over our good names. We were harmed by the very people who took an oath to protect us.

But now that truth has come out, the leadership of our two county law enforcement agencies have made things worse. They have falsely blamed the dogs' death on the dogs. They have blamed their illegal no-knock entry on my mother-in-law for shouting when she saw a SWAT team in the yard. And, although the rest of the world now knows it, the Chief of Police can't quite bring himself to say the word "innocent" –

Although he certainly isn't casting suspicion on the other five County homeowners whose identities were stolen by the deliveryman.

Sheriff Jackson said yesterday that his deputies were "engaged" by our dogs. This is simply false. The deputies opened fire and executed our dogs the very second they broke down our front door. The thoughtless execution of Payton and Chase was premeditated, without provocation, and appears to have been done for sport.

The officers were aware of the presence of our dogs before they broke down our front door. They had seen Payton earlier when the undercover officer delivered the package to our house. They had seen me walk both dogs through the neighborhood moments before the invaded our home. In fact, I waved to them.

Payton was shot some distance from the front door. He was shot where his body was found, near the entrance to the kitchen. After Payton was shot, Chase reacted to the gunfire and ran away from the deputies. He was hunted down and shot in the back while he fled. His body was found in the rear of the house.

We loved our dogs. Our community loved our dogs. They were a part of our family. They didn't deserve to die.

They don't deserve to be blamed for their deaths.

I call upon Sheriff Jackson to retract his false statement that our dogs "engaged" his deputies, as well as any suggestion that his deputies were justified in shooting our dogs. I also call upon law enforcement to release the photographs they took of our dogs after they were shot.

These images are shocking. They will show you what they did to them, and where they were located when they were killed. These photographs will tell the truth, if law enforcement refuses to do so.

I also call upon Sheriff Jackson to retract his statement that the "no-knock" invasion of our home was justified because my mother-in-law screamed when she saw the SWAT team in our yard. Last week, the spokesperson for the County police said the officers were justified in breaking down our door because a no-knock warrant had been issued.

This, too, turned out to be false. No such warrant was ever sought or obtained. In fact, when law enforcement invaded our house, they knew nothing about us except that someone had addressed a package containing marijuana to Trinity.

Although more than a dozen officers were at our house all day, they did not spend five minutes investigating who we are and what our lives are about. If they had, they would have found that we are regular, law-abiding, community-minded people. We have spent our lives in community service and certainly are not a threat to the public safety.

What is now most disturbing is that the Police Chief and Sheriff have reached public conclusions about the propriety of what happened without conducting any investigation whatsoever, and without ever talking to us at all. They are defending the indefensible.

They are unable to apologize for themselves. They are unable to investigate themselves. And they are clearly unable to reform themselves to make sure that this does not happen to any other innocent family in this County.
In this regard, we are already receiving reports of similar misconduct, including service of warrants at the wrong address, excessive use of no-knock entries, and other unjustified killings of family pets.

This has happened before, and without oversight, it will happen again. Our community is losing confidence in law enforcement based on what they did, and how our leadership has responded to what they did.

For this reason, we have asked the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice to investigate not only what happened to us, but also the larger question of policies and practices of County law enforcement agencies in executing warrants.

We have witnessed a frightening law enforcement culture in which the law is disregarded, the rights of innocent occupants are ignored, and the rights of innocent animals mean nothing. We would never have believed it if we hadn't seen it for ourselves.

Major Magaw, who heads the County's Narcotics Enforcement Division, has denied the existence of no-knock search warrants. This is despite the passage of House Bill 577, which was a 2005 amendment to Maryland's search warrant statute, which specifically provides for such warrants upon a proper application to a judicial officer.

What other statutory protections and civil rights are believed not to exist in Prince George's County? Why are senior law enforcement officials unaware of basic principles of Maryland law.

We need the Federal government to intervene and educate County officials about the rights and protections to which all American citizens, including those in Prince George's County, are entitled.

My family has come to deeply understand the pain and personal sorrow that results from injustice at the hands of our government, particularly the injustices that occur all too frequently here in Prince George's County.

We know that we are blessed in so many ways with the love and comfort of our community, our friends, and our families - -not to mention too many complete strangers. What saddens us most is that all too often, these injustices go unnoticed by law enforcement officials and those who are victimized are forced to suffer in silence.

When these actions first occurred, and I was on the floor, bound in my boxer shorts, looking over at the dead bodies of our wonderful, loyal family members, my initial reaction was that there had been a terrible, terrible mistake.

Now that the County has arrested the people responsible for this, and I have been forced to listen to them defend their actions without even reaching out to hear our story, it has become clear tome that the problems we face in the police and sheriff's departments are systemic, and today my family and I with our many friends begin to speak out to ensure that, though we are certainly not the first victims of brutal injustice in Prince George's County, we bring about far reaching changes that will make us among the last.

Trinity, Georgia, and I cannot turn the back the clock. Bullets cannot be put back in the guns. We may have our good names back, but we will never get our dogs back.

And we may never recover a sense of security and confidence in our law enforcement leadership.

We want to make clear that we support law enforcement and know that they have a difficult and important job to do. In my five years as Mayor, I have had the privilege to work with many outstanding law enforcement professionals, particularly Berwyn Heights Police Chief Patrick Murphy.

I want to thank Chief Murphy for his support through this tough time and for setting a fine example in our community of what policing should be.

Berwyn Heights is living proof that citizens can live safely inside the Beltway and our low crime rate speaks volumes about Chief Murphy's leadership.

Chief Murphy and his officers are largely responsible for the success of our Town because of their style of policing, their understanding of the importance of training and accountability, and their close partnership with the community.

This is the type of leadership that we must demand from our County law enforcement officials.

20080731 Washington Post: Police Raid Berwyn Heights Mayors Home Kill His 2 Dogs

20080731 Washington Post: Police Raid Berwyn Heights Mayors Home Kill His 2 Dogs

Police Raid Berwyn Heights Mayor's Home, Kill His 2 Dogs

By Aaron C. Davis
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 31, 2008; B01

A police SWAT team raided the home of the mayor in the Prince George's County town of Berwyn Heights on Tuesday, shooting and killing his two dogs, after he brought in a 32-pound package of marijuana that had been delivered to his doorstep, police said.

Mayor Cheye Calvo was not arrested in the raid, which was carried out about 7 p.m. by the Sheriff's Office SWAT team and county police narcotics officers. Prince George's police spokesman Henry Tippett said yesterday that all the residents of the house -- Calvo, his wife and his mother-in-law -- are "persons of interest" in the case.

[…]

Read the rest here: Police Raid Berwyn Heights Mayor's Home, Kill His 2 Dogs

Wednesday 07/30/08 6:33pm
Berwyn Heights Mayor Targeted in Drug Raid

Related: 20080801 Berwyn Heights mayor’s home invaded dog shot
20080730 WJLA: Berwyn Heights Mayor Targeted in Drug Raid

20080730 Berwyn Heights Mayor suffers home invasion dogs shot, MD municipality Berwyn Heights, Law and Order Lunacy, People MD Calvo – Cheye Calvo

More: Here, here, and here.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/30/AR2008073003299.html

20080730 WJLA: Berwyn Heights Mayor Targeted in Drug Raid

20080730 WJLA: Berwyn Heights Mayor Targeted in Drug Raid

WJLA: Berwyn Heights Mayor Targeted in Drug Raid

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0708/540029.html

Related: 20080801 Berwyn Heights mayor’s home invaded dog shot
20080730 Berwyn Heights Mayor suffers home invasion dogs shot, Law and Order Lunacy, MD municipality Berwyn Heights, People MD Calvo – Cheye Calvo, Law and Order Lunacy, People MD Calvo – Cheye Calvo

More: Here, here, and here.

posted by WJLA 6:33 pm Wed July 30, 2008 - BERWYN HEIGHTS, Md.

The Mayor of Berwyn Heights, Md. was the target of a drug raid Wednesday after a package containing several pounds of marijuana was shipped to his home, according to police.

Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo is still reeling after a team of heavily armed sheriff deputies burst into his home Wednesday.

"It was an explosion followed immediately by gunfire," said Calvo.

The deputies bound the mayor and fired shots, killing the Calvo's two black Labradors. Calvo tearfully expressed his love for his "good dogs" while showing ABC 7 reporter Brad Bell, exactly where they were shot by a Prince George's county sheriff.

[…]

Read the rest here: Berwyn Heights Mayor Targeted in Drug Raid

20080801 Berwyn Heights mayor’s home invaded dog shot

20080801 Berwyn Heights mayor’s home invaded dog shot

Berwyn Heights mayor’s home invaded dog shot

August 1, 2008

The mayor of Berwyn Heights, Cheye Calvo, had his home invaded Wednesday evening, July 30, 2008.

More: Here, here, and here.

I have briefly worked with Mayor Calvo in the past, but I do not know him well. What I do know is that he is a very soft-spoken, kind, conscientious and an extraordinarily capable and competent person, who loves his community and is extremely well-liked by everyone.

For this to happen to him is simply an outrage…

His front door was broken-through and heavily armed folks invaded his home. In the melee that ensued, his two black Labrador dogs were shot and killed and he and his mother-in-law were tied-up, while his home was ransacked.

The police did not have far to look for the folks who did this. It was the Prince Georges County Sheriff’s Department – who, oops, made a mistake. Oh, nevermind...

Labels: 20080730 Berwyn Heights Mayor suffers home invasion dogs shot, Law and Order Lunacy, MD municipality Berwyn Heights, People MD Calvo – Cheye Calvo,

20051214 McDaniel students tackle bioterrorism scenario by Heidi Schroeder for The Westminster Eagle

20051214 McDaniel students tackle bioterrorism scenario by Heidi Schroeder for The Westminster Eagle

McDaniel students tackle bioterrorism scenario

12/14/05, By Heidi Schroeder

Members of the Carroll County emergency response team gathered at McDaniel College last week to discuss the release of an aerosol of plague at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore.

But not to worry - there were no patients flooding area hospitals, nor emergency notices being released to the public.

Instead, experts gathered at McDaniel for a bioterrorism exercise in a class, "National Security in a Changing World," hosted by Dr. Volker Franke.

The exercise is a cumulative project for the 14 upperclassmen enrolled in Franke's class this semester. In the scenario, each student is assigned the role of a member of the county's emergency response team.

Members of the Carroll County emergency response team, including emergency management coordinator Bill Martin, health officer Larry Leitch, HAZMAT team chair Jeff Kreimer, hospital infection control coordinator Brenda Kitchen, and Westminster police chief Jeff Spaulding and public works assistant director Jeff Glass, also took part in the project, as students took those roles in the class.

Each student was assigned a role on the response team, and interviewed their corresponding official in preparation for the Dec. 7 exercise.

For the drill, students were broken into two teams of seven and asked to prepare for a briefing to the mayor of Westminster. Former mayor Kevin Dayhoff reprised his role for the exercise - becoming mayor again for the night.

After an initial briefing, each team was given two updates on the scenario and five minutes to strategize solutions to each.

Over the course of two presentations, each team created a response to the possible spread of the plague.

In the mock scenario, nearly 3,000 guests of the Meyerhoff are "exposed" to the aerosol during a sold-out performance.

Students proposed everything from road blocks and quarantines to hiding emergency responders in an underground bunker to avoid media scrutiny.

At the end of the evening, the officials in attendance credited the student for their research and solutions.

"I truly believe that scenarios are more difficult to deal with than the real thing," Spaulding said, explaining that there are hard facts in a real incident - which are not always evident in an exercise.

Senior Alicia Feuillet played the role of Carroll County Hospital Center's infection control coordinator. She complimented the members of the county's emergency response team on hand - including Martin, Leitch, Spaulding, Kreimer and Carroll County Volunteer Emergency Services Association liaison Leon Fleming - on the challenges of their jobs.

"We definitely learned to respect what you guys do," Feuillet said after her team's presentation.

Class after Sept. 11

After teaching national security classes at George Washington University and having prepared national security case exercises for Syracuse University for years, Franke first offered his national security course at McDaniel in the fall semester of 2001.

But before the semester was a month under way, four planes were hijacked in real life, and Franke's class changed - along with the rest of the world.

"Sept. 11 made me change the class and focus on terrorism," he said.

With this new focus, Franke contacted Westminster's then-mayor Dayhoff about participating in and helping to prepare an emergency response exercise at a local level.

"I wanted to show (the students) that terrorism is not just important when you live in New York City or Washington, D.C.," Franke said.

Franke credited Dayhoff with sharing information about who would be involved in an emergency response and for his continued participation in the class each year.

"Now, we actually have a following," Franke said.

One of those participants is Spaulding, who said afterward that he was impressed with students' responses, given that they had only their research to rely on.

"I think that they did their homework and they were very analytical in their approach," Spaulding said. "It's always good to hear other people's ideas.

This was the first year for Martin to fully participate in the exercise - in the past he had only participated in interviews, not in the actual briefings - but said he is already looking forward to next year.

"Exercise is becoming the norm," Martin said of the county's own attempts at emergency preparedness.

He said the students performed well both in research and under pressure.

"You're taking a bunch of young adults who have more than likely not been exposed to problems of that nature, particularly to that depth," Martin said. "I thought they did very well."

E-mail Heidi Schroeder at Heidi Schroeder@patuxent.com

WestGovNet: Colleges and schools McDaniel College, Colleges and schools McDaniel College Dr. Franke Fall BioTerrorism Simulation Exercise, Dayhoff Kevin Dayhoff press clippings

KevinDayhoffNet: Colleges and Universities McDaniel College, Colleges and Universities McDaniel College Dr. Franke Fall BioTerrorism Simulation Exercise, Dayhoff press clippings

NBH: colleges and universities mcdaniel, dayhoff press clippings, mcdaniel college franke fall biot sim ex]

Class projects puts McDaniel students on the front lines of a biological attack
http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/51418.html

20031208 McDaniel College web site: Local leaders, political science students talk bioterrorism
http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/51508.html

20051211 McDaniel students are tested on their studies by responding to a mock biological attack by Gina Davis for the Baltimore Sun
http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/51845.html

mcdaniel college franke fall biot sim ex
http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/tag/mcdaniel+college+franke+fall+biot+sim+ex

20051211 McDaniel students are tested on their studies by responding to a mock biological attack by Gina Davis for the Baltimore Sun

20051211 McDaniel students are tested on their studies by responding to a mock biological attack by Gina Davis for the Baltimore Sun

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/carroll/bal-ca.bioterror11dec11,1,4787835.story?coll=bal-local-carroll

A practical exam for disaster

McDaniel students are tested on their studies by responding to a mock biological attack

By Gina Davis, Sun Reporter, December 11, 2005

It's two days after a sold-out concert at the Joseph B. Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, where more than 2,000 music lovers were serenaded - and, unwittingly, poisoned at the hands of a bioterrorist who had covertly released an aerosol of plague.

Members of a Westminster emergency response team are huddled with the local mayor, cobbling together the city's strategy to deal with a possible outbreak of the pneumonic plague. They must put their heads together to present a solid plan to community officials and to reassure a near-panicked public.

For a group of McDaniel College students, the team effort is the culminating exercise of a class called National Security in a Changing World. It's their chance to put the book knowledge they have acquired during the past semester into practice.

"The goal is that students learn about national security and learn how to translate the classroom into a practical experience," says Volker Franke, a national security expert who has been teaching the course at McDaniel since 2001.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks - which occurred during the course's first semester - Franke included further discussion about government response to terrorism.

"We had talked about terrorism, but it used to be two or so lectures," says Franke, who is also a case director for the National Security Studies program at Syracuse University in New York. "I revised the course to address those issues. Terrorism has become a bigger part of the course."

He says that in 2002 he incorporated a bioterrorism exercise in the class, but it was an ungraded discussion. Since then, he has developed a simulation exercise for students that takes them out of the classroom and engages them with community officials as they research the roles they must assume for the project.

Franke says he discussed his idea with then-Westminster Mayor Kevin Dayhoff and came up with a list of roles for the students.

"I asked him, 'Who would your team be?" Franke says. "That's how we came up with the list of emergency responders. Then [Dayhoff] contacted other agencies within the county."

Dayhoff enlisted volunteers from various Carroll County offices, such as the health and public works departments.

The roles that Franke and Dayhoff decided would be critical to an emergency response team included: county emergency management coordinator, county health officer, city police chief, fire department spokesman, hazardous materials team chairman, city public works director and Carroll County Hospital Center's infection control coordinator.

This semester, the 14 students in Franke's class were divided into two teams and each participant was assigned one of seven roles on the emergency response team. During the course, they interviewed their real-life counterparts to gain an understanding of their roles and prepared descriptions of what they would bring to the situation.

"National security is not just about missiles, tanks and Marines," Franke says as the students arrived last week at a lecture room in Hill Hall for their mock disaster response planning drill, which counts for 15 percent of their grade.
"It starts at the local level," he says. "We have to bring it down to the level that pertains to them on a daily basis."

The exercise focuses on public officials' response to a bioterrorism attack in a command-center style arrangement. The students - in their roles as emergency responders - are seated at a semicircular table on one side of the room, while the real-life emergency responders are seated at an identical table across from them.

As part of the exercise, the real-life emergency responders listen as the students brief them on the status of the bioterror attack and the ensuing panic. The students then field a volley of questions from the experts.

"Mr. Incident Commander, you have thousands of people waiting for antibiotics and now you don't have enough. What's your plan?" Jeff Spaulding, Westminster's police chief, asks Mike Habegger, who has assumed the role of county health officer and director of the emergency response team.

"This is kind of unexpected," Habegger answers. "We will urge people to stay out of public places. It's very disturbing that people have not heeded our messages to stay home."

When one student suggests that local officials use a school as a quarantine site, the county's real health officer, Larry Leitch, questions that advice.

"Do you think it's wise to use a school building as a quarantine site?" Leitch asks. "Don't you think parents will be afraid to send their children back into that school?"

Students, undeterred, say they could use a large area, such as the gym, and install filters that would prevent bacteria from spreading to other parts of the building.
At two points in the exercise, students are given new information that they must quickly assess to reformulate their response plans.

In the end, the real-life emergency responders critique the students' response plans and their reactions to the evolving crisis. They tell the students how they would've responded had the exercise been real.

The students describe the exercise as eye-opening.

"With national security, you usually think, 'What can we do to prevent terrorism?' " says student Donnie Bell. "But there's really not much we can do other than try to stop it. What we have to do is figure out how to react."

gina.davis@baltsun.com

WestGovNet: Colleges and schools McDaniel College, Colleges and schools McDaniel College Dr. Franke Fall BioTerrorism Simulation Exercise, Dayhoff Kevin Dayhoff press clippings

KevinDayhoffNet: Colleges and Universities McDaniel College, Colleges and Universities McDaniel College Dr. Franke Fall BioTerrorism Simulation Exercise, Dayhoff press clippings

NBH: colleges and universities mcdaniel, dayhoff press clippings, mcdaniel college franke fall biot sim ex]

Class projects puts McDaniel students on the front lines of a biological attack
http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/51418.html

20031208 McDaniel College web site: Local leaders, political science students talk bioterrorism
http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/51508.html

mcdaniel college franke fall biot sim ex
http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/tag/mcdaniel+college+franke+fall+biot+sim+ex

20031208 McDaniel College web site: Local leaders, political science students talk bioterrorism

20031208 McDaniel College web site: Local leaders, political science students talk bioterrorism

http://www.mcdaniel.edu/news/archive03/bioterror2.shtml

Local leaders, political science students talk bioterrorism

December 8, 2003

Consider this scenario: Pneumonic plague has hit Baltimore, and city leaders suspect bioterrorism.

Bracing for the disease to spread across county lines, the Westminster mayor convenes a team of advisers.

Tension runs high. Not only are Mayor Kevin Dayhoff and other local leaders asking difficult questions; this new team of advisers has never handled an emergency plan – never mind one for a bioterrorist attack.

They are McDaniel students in a political science class, "National Security in a Changing World."

And when the students met with local emergency responders Dec. 3 to lay out their strategy, their real-life counterparts were quick to complete their plans with advice – from critique to praise for the students' creativity.

As two groups of students presented their proposals to local leaders, they offered a range of ideas. They discussed aspects of their plans, from blocking main roads and screening entrants to quarantining people who had been exposed, offering treatment for patients at the former Lowe's building and area schools, and even shuttling the sick so they wouldn't create extra traffic on area roads.

"Mostly what we're trying to do is prevent the spread and go a little overboard," said Nate Getchell '05, acting as the health officer for one of the groups. "Offense is your best defense."

The students proposed developing hotlines for people seeking information and spreading the news via local TV and radio stations. One of the groups wanted to broadcast the hotline information from police cruisers.

"Has the mayor declared marshal law?" Dayhoff asked.

Without hesitation, Jon Fitzgerald '06, serving as the public information officer for his group, responded. "No, the mayor has not. Quite frankly, we are trying to remain as calm as possible."

Looking ahead, the students even tried to find solutions such as sending contaminated hospital materials to an incinerator in York, Pa., and storing dead bodies in refrigerators at a meatpacking plant.

"I think the identification of a temporary morgue is a great thing," said Mike Webster, director of Campus Safety. But be prepared, he told the students, for the liability issues after destroying a local business's reputation.

Dayhoff complimented the students on their plans, which they developed after interviewing their real-life counterparts and then grappling with the scenario, created by their instructor, Volker Franke, assistant professor of political science and international relations.

"Some of those things that you didn't get right … you didn't get it right with a lot of depth and a lot of thought and a lot of integrity, and that never bothers me," Dayhoff said.

In a real incident, Dayhoff said he would have declared marshal law – as he did during Hurricane Isabel – along with turning to the National Guard and Maryland Emergency Management Agency for extra support.

"You're going to be absolutely amazed at how much of your future roles will be absorbed with public health, safety, and welfare," Dayhoff told the students. "I wish I had taken this class when I was your age. I've just had to put it together over the years."

For Leon Checca '05, acting as public information officer for one of the groups gave him a glimpse into what he might like to do after college, possibly working for the National Security Agency.

"It was definitely really interesting," he said. "We didn't really think anything would happen in Westminster. We thought it would happen elsewhere."

But if it does happen in Westminster, Dayhoff may have a few extra advisers.

"There were no incorrect or wrong decisions. What's really important is that you planned," he said. "I would go into any emergency response with you all."

For more information, contact Rita Beyer, associate director of media relations, at 410-857-2294.

WestGovNet: Colleges and schools McDaniel College, Colleges and schools McDaniel College Dr. Franke Fall BioTerrorism Simulation Exercise, Dayhoff Kevin Dayhoff press clippings

KevinDayhoffNet: Colleges and Universities McDaniel College, Colleges and Universities McDaniel College Dr. Franke Fall BioTerrorism Simulation Exercise, Dayhoff press clippings

NBH: colleges and universities mcdaniel, dayhoff press clippings, mcdaniel college franke fall biot sim ex]

Class projects puts McDaniel students on the front lines of a biological attack
http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/51418.html

mcdaniel college franke fall biot sim ex
http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/tag/mcdaniel+college+franke+fall+biot+sim+ex

20031204 Class projects puts McDaniel students on the front lines of a biological attack by Jamie Schmidt for the Carroll County Times

20031204 Class projects puts McDaniel students on the front lines of a biological attack by Jamie Schmidt for the Carroll County Times

Class projects puts McDaniel students on the front lines of a biological attack

By Jamie Schmidt, Times Staff Writer

December 4th, 2003

Westminster city officials gathered and spent several hours discussing how to respond to a biological attack. The plan unrolled like a Tom Clancy novel, including road barriers, hotlines, shelters, press releases, volunteers and preparing a hospital for infected patients.

However, there was no real infectious outbreak, and the officials were actually McDaniel College political science students - although the real officials attended, to observe and question the students' research.

The students convened in a mock round table Wednesday night attended by Westminster Mayor Kevin Dayhoff, Westminster fire company chief Kevin Utz and Larry Leitch, health officer at the county's Health Department, among others.

The students' teacher, Volker Franke, assistant professor of political science and international studies, said that one student came to him earlier Wednesday worried about presenting a plan to men and women who thought about emergency response for a living.

Franke consulted Dayhoff in designing the exercise.

"He gave me a list of people he told me he would want to hear from, and I assigned the roles of the responders to the students," he said.

Students then had to interview everyone to learn about the roles they would have to play. Howard "Buddy" Redman Jr., director of emergency management for the county, spoke to several students about his responsibilities managing manmade disasters and attacks.

"It is interesting to have others interested in what you do," Redman said. "I have been working in emergency management for 27 years, and for the first 25, we were there but people didn't think about us as much."

Student Farzin Farzad said that he gained an enormous admiration for Tom Beyard, Westminster's director of planning and public works, after learning about his responsibilities.

Franke said that he wanted the students to understand their roles before he gave them a pretend scenario: plague bacilli released during a sold-out performance at the Joseph Myerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore.

During the roundtable, as students threw out plans, Dayhoff piped up that the students should consider recommending that the mayor declare marshal law.

"With the hurricane, I ordered everyone off the streets at 6," Dayhoff said. "If I did it for a hurricane, I'd sure as heck do it for this."

Utz piped up that he immediately wanted to know the names of every person who attended the symphony hall. Bob Cumberland, longtime Westminster volunteer fire company member, told students to remember the fire company's mutual aid agreements - that it was okay to ask for help.

"Let's look to Pennsylvania to assist," he said.

In the last 12 weeks, Franke's students discussed and studied the threats on the United States that developed over the past decade and examined changing global security requirements. Franke said that he was impressed how the students worked together in their culminating project for the semester.

"Preparing is hard," said student Danielle Goodnow. "You get a great amount of respect for what people do."

*****

WestGovNet: Colleges and schools McDaniel College, Dayhoff Kevin Dayhoff press clippings, Colleges and schools McDaniel College Dr. Franke Fall BioTerrorism Simulation Exercise,

KevinDayhoffNet: Colleges and Universities McDaniel College, Dayhoff press clippings, Colleges and Universities McDaniel College Dr. Franke Fall BioTerrorism Simulation Exercise

NBH: McDaniel College Franke Fall BioT Sim Ex, Colleges and Universities McDaniel College, Dayhoff press clippings