|
Post by WaTcHeR on Nov 22, 2006 9:40:38 GMT -5
11.22.2006 - ATLANTA -- A 88-year-old woman was shot to death Tuesday after she fired at three narcotics officers trying to serve a warrant at her house, officials said. Neighbors and relatives said it must have been a case of mistaken identity. Police said they had the right address. Police said the woman, identified as Kathryn Johnson, was the only person home at the time, and had lived there for about 17 years. As the plainclothes Atlanta police officers approached the house about 7 p.m., a woman inside started shooting, striking each of them, said Officer Joe Cobb, a police spokesman. Assistant Chief Alan Dreher said the officers had a legal warrant and "knocked and announced" before they forced open the door. He said they were justified in returning fire when they were fired upon. One was hit in the arm, another in a thigh and the third in a shoulder. The officers were taken to a hospital for treatment, and all three were conscious and alert, police said. Sarah Dozier, identified as a niece of the woman, told WAGA-TV that there were never any drugs at the house. "My aunt was in good health. I'm sure she panicked when they kicked that door down," Dozier said. "There was no reason they had to go in there and shoot her down like a dog." www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/21/AR2006112101856_pf.html
|
|
|
Post by FT on Nov 23, 2006 11:14:43 GMT -5
How did the woman know the cops were real? Anyone could have kicked in the door and yelled police. The police officers should be dead! Anyone that doesn't knock and wait for me to answer the door will have his head blown off and this includes any police officer.
|
|
|
Post by KC on Nov 23, 2006 21:09:56 GMT -5
ATLANTA. Ga. -- Many people on the rundown northwest Atlanta street where Kathryn Johnston lived fortify their windows with metal bars and arm themselves for protection. Johnston, 92, was no exception. She was waiting with her gun on Tuesday night when a group of plainclothes officers with a warrant knocked down her door in a search for drugs, police said. She opened fire, wounding three officers, before being shot to death, police said. Assistant Police Chief Alan Dreher called the killing "tragic and unfortunate" but said the officers were justified in returning fire. "You don't know who's in the house until you open that door," Dreher said Wednesday. "And once they forced open the door, they were immediately fired upon." The Rev. Markel Hutchins, a civil rights activist and spokesman for Johnston's family, said he could understand why the elderly woman would arm herself. "She was afraid," Hutchins said. "This is a horrifying situation in a neighborhood where crime happens often. This incident is a result of a mix-up." The officers had gone to the old woman's house with a search warrant after buying drugs there from a man known only as Sam, police said. Police issued a "John Doe" warrant on Wednesday for the arrest of Sam, believed to be in his early to mid 30s, who allegedly sold the drugs to the undercover agent. Dreher would not say how the dealer knew Johnston. Investigators also said they found drugs in the home after Johnston was killed. Officer Joe Cobb, a police spokesman, said the type of drug involved would not be disclosed until it was verified by the crime lab. District Attorney Paul Howard said that his office is looking into the shooting but that a preliminary review indicates the officers had a right to search the home. Crime and drugs are a part of the landscape in the rough neighborhood where Johnston lived, and her neighbors said they do what it takes to protect themselves. "It's the roughest neighborhood in Georgia," said 56-year-old Allen Pernel, who lives a few blocks from Johnston's home. "If she thought somebody was coming into her house, she did what any of us would have done." Al Harley, a 50-year-old homeless man who hangs out in front of a neighborhood convenience store, said residents follow a sort of credo: "Don't let anyone disrespect your door."The police chief said the officers had identified themselves and then forced open the door of Johnson's house of 17 years. Johnston was alone in her house, police said. Bullets struck Investigator Gary Smith, 38, in the leg and Investigator Cary Bond, 38, in the arm. Investigator Gregg Junnier, 40, was hit in the leg, the face and his bulletproof vest. They were taken to the hospital and are expected to recover. Johnston had no children and her closest relative was a 75-year-old niece, neighbors said. "She hardly came outside her home," said Tameka Walker, 28, who lives behind Johnston's house and used to visit her. "She's not a 92-year-old grouchy old woman you think she was. She's a very nice person." www.pantagraph.com/articles/2006/11/23/news/doc456466c5f1e86283034474.txt
|
|
|
Post by WaTcHeR on Nov 25, 2006 9:31:22 GMT -5
Federal inquiry sought in police killing of woman, 88 11.25.2006 - ATLANTA - A civil rights activist representing the family of an elderly woman killed in a gunfight with police will ask for a federal investigation into her death. "People in the community are angry, and rightfully so," the Rev. Markel Hutchins said yesterday, adding he will travel to Washington, D.C., on Monday to deliver a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales requesting a Department of Justice and FBI investigation into the death of Kathryn Johnston. "We don't think the Atlanta Police is going to police itself," Hutchins said of his request for a federal inquiry. Johnston, who police said was 92, was killed Tuesday evening by undercover narcotics agents. Authorities say the agents obtained a search warrant for Johnston's home after buying drugs from a man there that afternoon. Police said the agents identified themselves but, when they knocked down the door, Johnston opened fire and injured three of the officers. "Ms. Johnston represented every African-American or American grandmother," Hutchins said. Police officers "should have known who lived in the house. Why did they hold a warrant?" Hutchins said he has spoken with U.S. Reps. John Lewis and Cynthia McKinney about the incident. "As this horrific incident has all the signs of an egregious violation of Ms. Johnston's civil and human rights at worst and police officers using poor judgment and unnecessary force at best, I appealed for both of their support and assistance in our efforts to get an immediate audience with the United States Department of Justice," Hutchins said in a statement. Neighbors and relatives have called the incident a case of mistaken identity. Hutchins said criminals in the community often impersonate police officers. Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said his office has launched its own independent investigation into the fatal shooting, but said a preliminary review of the case shows the officers "had a legal right" to search the home. www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/nation/16094543.htm
|
|
|
Post by YY on Nov 25, 2006 15:27:29 GMT -5
I think that if three guys in plainclothes - no matter who they said they were - kicked in my door at 7 in the evening I'd start shooting too. May God bless the old lady for having the guts to defend herself from strangers breaking into her house.
|
|
|
Post by Jack R on Nov 25, 2006 20:01:50 GMT -5
In the U.S., the unexpected appearance of armed men on your doorstep can be taken quite logically as a threat, especially and sometimes even if the men are not in uniform. Given the Gestapo-like tactics of so many police forces,the old lady had good reason to fear for her life. The real tragedy here is that she was killed. Even if there is an investigation, there is little doubt that the police will be exonerated. Most inquiries into the conduct of the police are a total sham.
|
|
|
Post by Sid on Nov 25, 2006 22:57:45 GMT -5
There is no logical reason for the police to show up in plainclothes to enforce a warrant. Plainclothes are for sting operations or undercover. This was neither. Living a large US city is scary for the average person let alone an old lady. I agree if some regular looking guys kicked my door in wielding guns, I would naturally assume they were up to no good regardless of what they yelled before doing so. I mean Jesus fucking Christ, have criminals have never been known to lie? If the police had been wearing uniforms that would be another thing all together, but as it is I consider them negligent in the death of this woman.
|
|
|
Post by Dave on Nov 26, 2006 12:02:31 GMT -5
I think it started to go south with that show cops - a weekly rendition of police officers violating the constitution and beating up poor people - why there has never been a protest from law enforcement for being portrayed in such a manner is beyond me - and now murdering a 92 year old woman in her home - how embarrassing. Why can they not see how they just keep making it worse and worse on themselves. They probably had the right house and were justified, but refusing to release the search warrant sure makes most folks think the address on it is wrong - what other reason not to release it? And now in New York, they kill the groom to be - police refusing comment until they investigate futher - well I challenge anyone to give me senario in which 5 police officers kill three unarmed men in a vehicle moving away from them is justified - unless of course one of those killed was Osam Bin Laden.
|
|
|
Post by PR on Nov 26, 2006 12:32:37 GMT -5
Sad to say, but based on the description provided I think this situation was defiantly either provoked or at the very least made much worse by the police. Anyone in plain clothes can bang on your door and claim to be the police - but if you are going to be forcing an entry, then shouldn't you have a uniformed officer there to prove that you're not just a bunch of thugs trying to pull off a home invasion? If there was sufficient evidence to get a warrant for this lady's home, then it likely speaks to the quality of the surrounding neighborhood - and the woman herself was likely aware of this (hence the gun and likely the reaction
|
|
|
Post by WaTcHeR on Nov 27, 2006 15:36:19 GMT -5
Police to review 'no-knock' policy after elderly woman killed 11.27.2006 - Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington said Sunday his department will review its policy on "no-knock" warrants and its use of confidential informants after an elderly woman was fatally shot by plainclothes officers. Pennington's comments on the incident were the first since Kathryn Johnston was killed Tuesday night after she shot three narcotics officers, who were serving a warrant at her home when they were met with gunfire from the woman. The chief was out of town last week for the Thanksgiving holiday and said he was unable to get a flight back to Atlanta sooner. The officers entered the home looking for cocaine based on tips from an informant, according to the search warrant released Monday by the Fulton County State Court. After the shooting officers found marijuana inside the northwest Atlanta home, but "not a large quantity," Pennington said. The informant told officers that the home had surveillance cameras that the suspected drug dealer, called "Sam," monitored carefully. Police have said "Sam" had sold drugs from inside Johnston's home to an informant, prompting the officers to seek a "no-knock" warrant. Such warrants are frequently used by police to get inside a home before suspects have a chance to get rid of drugs. Pennington was scheduled to hold a news conference later Monday to disclose details from the shooting, said police spokesman Officer Joe Cobb. The incident remains under internal review by the police department, which prevents the chief from talking about many aspects of the case, he said. "He's going to discuss everything we can release about the officer involved shooting of Ms. Johnston," Cobb said. Sarah Dozier, Johnston's niece, has said her aunt lived alone. Johnston was described by neighbors and family as a woman living in fear in Vine City _ a northwest Atlanta neighborhood in the shadow of the Georgia Dome. There were burglar bars on her one-story brick home and she rarely let friends and neighbors inside. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into the incident at the request of the Fulton County District Attorney's Office. The Rev. Markel Hutchins, a civil rights activist, is scheduled to travel to Washington on Monday to call for a federal investigation into the incident. Pennington said he welcomes any investigation into the shooting. "I appreciated that he came down to reassure us that he will do everything that needs to be done to look into this," Hutchins said after the meeting. The three officers were released from the hospital last week and are on leave with pay. Funeral plans for Johnston have not been made. The Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office also reported Sunday that records show Johnston was 88, despite her family saying she was 92.www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfullstory.asp?ID=83787
|
|
|
Post by WaTcHeR on Nov 27, 2006 15:43:11 GMT -5
I kindof figured it was going to be an informant that was involved in this. Paid informants are nothing more than cock suckers to the faggot prosecutors and police officers in the U.S. I hope the name of the informant is released and I hope someone blows a hole in his head. As far as the judge that signed the "death warrant" and to the cops, it would be real nice if they were involved in some sort of accident.
|
|
|
Post by KC on Nov 28, 2006 0:48:53 GMT -5
Police shooting of elderly woman leads to federal probe ATLANTA, Georgia -- Federal authorities will investigate last week's police involved shooting death of an elderly woman in Atlanta, the city's police chief announced Monday. Richard Pennington also said the eight-member narcotics team tied to the incident will be placed on paid leave. The move came after an informant -- named in a search warrant of the woman's home -- denied buying drugs at the residence, Pennington said. But police spokesmen had initially said narcotics officers carried out a drug buy Tuesday from a man identified only as "Sam" at Kathryn Johnston's home west of downtown Atlanta. Pennington said investigators found a small amount of marijuana there after the raid. "The officers are saying one thing. The confidential informant is saying something else," the chief said. The decision to turn the case over to the FBI, federal prosecutors, the Fulton County district attorney's office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, came in the middle of "intense speculation and suspicion" surrounding the shooting, said Pennington. He promised to make "every document, every witness and piece of evidence" available. Police said Johnston opened fire on police who tried to enter her home last Tuesday. Three officers were wounded, and Johnston was killed when police returned fire. Neighbors and relatives said the raid had to have been a mistake. Johnston lived alone and was so afraid of crime in the neighborhood that she wouldn't let neighbors who delivered groceries for her come into her home, they said. Relatives gave her age as 92, but Fulton County medical examiners put her age at 88. Reviewing "no-knock" policy The chief said his department was reviewing its use of "no-knock" raids after the shootout. The warrants are common in narcotics cases when officers fear suspects may try to dispose of drugs or evidence in the time it takes authorities to gain access to the home. "There are many unanswered questions. I promise each and every citizen that the complete truth will be eventually known, whatever that might be," he said. "But we must all exercise patience while we examine and re-examine every single aspect of these tragic events." A spokesman for Johnston's family, the Rev. Markel Hutchins, went to Washington to request a federal investigation Monday. Hutchins said he had received assurance agencies involved would conduct a "swift and thorough" investigation into Johnston's death. Hutchins said the three mid-level officials with whom he met also promised "all resources at our disposal" to help counter the fallout in the African American community from the fatal shooting. And a Justice Department official in Washington confirmed the Civil Rights Division's interest in the case. "We have begun a review of the matter, and are collecting information," spokesperson Cynthia Magnuson said. "The FBI has already begun its investigation and we are coordinating with other agencies." Hutchins said he urged Justice Department officials to pressure local police departments to stop using "no knock" search warrants. www.cnn.com/2006/US/11/27/atlanta.shooting/
|
|
|
Post by WaTcHeR on Nov 28, 2006 18:11:07 GMT -5
11.28.2006 - Officials say the FBI will lead an investigation into the fatal shooting of an elderly Atlanta woman during a drug raid last week. The announcement was made by Police Chief Richard Pennington at a news conference Monday afternoon, where he was joined by officials from the FBI, the US Attorney’s Office, the GBI and Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard. A search warrant released by State Court in Fulton County says Atlanta police were looking for cocaine when they forced open the door of Kathryn Johnston Tuesday night, resulting in a shootout in which three officers were wounded. The warrant says the information came from an informant. The informant told officers that the home had surveillance cameras that the suspected drug dealer, called “Sam,” monitored carefully. Police have said “Sam” had sold drugs from inside Johnston’s home to an informant, prompting the officers to seek a “no-knock” warrant. Such warrants are frequently used by police to get inside a home before suspects have a chance to get rid of drugs. But a local television station aired an interview on Monday evening with a man who said he was the informant, and he said he never told officers that he bought drugs at Johnston's house. Pennington said at a news conference on Sunday that the department will review its policy on “no-knock” warrants and its use of confidential informants. www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=88225
|
|
|
Post by WaTcHeR on Nov 28, 2006 18:12:39 GMT -5
Informant Says Cops Told Him To Lie About Shooting Of Elderly Atlanta Woman11.28.2006 - Atlanta, GA. - An unidentified police informant is in protective custody following a television interview in which he said officers had told him to lie about buying narcotics at a home where an elderly woman was shot and killed during a drug raid. Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington said at a press conference Monday, that the informant's comments contradicted statements made by officers who were at the scene when 88-year-old Kathryn Johnston was gunned down by plain-clothes officers. "The officers are saying one thing, the confidential informant is saying something else," said Pennington, in his first public comments about the shooting. Police had claimed that the informant told them he had bought narcotics from a drug dealer at the house where Johnston was killed. During an interview, however Monday on WAGA-TV, a man who identified himself as the informant said officers concocted the story after the shooting. The features of the informant were obscured during the televised interview. Police Chief Pennington said the informant had made similar comments to the police department's Internal Affairs unit. Three police officers were wounded during the Nov. 21 drug raid. Officers said Johnston was killed after she opened fire on investigators. Pennington told reporters that officers said they recovered a small amount of marijuana during the raid. Investigators had said they went to the house seeking to bust a cocaine sale. They entered the home on a "no-knock" warrant. The shooting has prompted the Atlanta Police Department to review its use of such warrants. Johnston's family and neighbors said the elderly woman had an intense fear of being assaulted, and that she lived cloistered behind locked doors and barred windows. Family members gave Johnston's age as 92, but a report by the medical examiner said records show she was 88. The seven narcotics officers and a police sergeant involved in the incident have been suspended, with pay, pending the outcome of the investigation. The names of the officers have not been released. The shooting has angered many Atlanta residents and prompted a wide scale investigation involving the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's office, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the Fulton County District Attorney's office. www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7005657297
|
|
|
Post by KC on Nov 29, 2006 0:19:42 GMT -5
A couple says they had a frightening experience with some of the same officers involved in last week's deadly drug raid at Kathryn Johnston's home in northwest Atlanta. 11Alive's Jennifer Leslie spoke exclusively with the southwest Atlanta couple still shaken by what happened to them. "I would never have believed things like this happen," said Alphonso Howard. Alphonso Howard and his wife, Tia, say they will never forget the fear they felt when Atlanta police raided their home last year. "I could have been dead, all of us could have been dead and my kids, too," said Tia Howard. The Howard family and their three small children were asleep in their southwest Atlanta home when they heard someone breaking down their door. "So I rushed out of bed to the hallway. When I got in the hallway, they was right there with their guns telling me to get down. I was trying to get to my kids safety because I don't know if it's robbers or what. I don't know what's going on," said Alphonso Howard. Mr. Howard said he was confronted by several members of the Atlanta narcotics squad, who were there to execute a no-knock search warrant. According to that warrant, some of the same officers involved in the Kathryn Johnston raid also took part in this raid. Once again, they relied on a confidential informant who claimed he bought marijuana from someone inside the Howard's home. The police searched turned up nothing and no criminal charges were ever filed after the raid of the Howard's home. "No money or contraband were ever found and my client has no criminal history," said Kea Strozier, Howard family attorney. The Howard family filed a complaint with the Atlanta Police Department, but documents show internal affairs investigators could not prove or disprove their allegations of police misconduct. As a result, the complaint was not sustained. Last August, Howard's attorney filed a demand letter with the city asking for $100,000, claiming police caused the family extreme emotional distress and public embarrassment. City officials said they could not accept responsibility or pay the claim. Atlanta police would not talk with 11Alive about the Howard raid. Because the Howard family plans to file a civil lawsuit against the city, they said it would be inappropriate to comment. Atlanta police did confirm they plan to review the entire history of every officer involved in the Johnston raid and that would include the Howard raid. www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=88294
|
|
|
Post by WaTcHeR on Nov 29, 2006 10:51:21 GMT -5
Informant Says Cops Told Him To Lie About Shooting Of Elderly Atlanta Woman Well this is certainly a twist in the story. I wonder how long it will be for the cops around the nation to say that the informant is a liar? Well all informants are usually liars. If the Atlanta cops did try to get the informant to lie to cover their ass, then it's time to take cops down town and have a public hanging. Hang them until they are dead!
|
|
|
Post by KC on Nov 29, 2006 20:03:07 GMT -5
Albany -- The FBI is now looking into the shooting death by Atlanta Police of an 88-year-old woman during a narcotics raid of her home. The officers were issued a "no-knock" search warrant, which allowed them to go into her home unannounced. The Atlanta woman shot three officers when they kicked in her door, before they killed her in a shootout. The officers told a Judge an informant bought drugs at the woman's home to get that warrant. Now the informant says police told him to lie after the shooting. South Georgia law enforcement and Judges say no knock search warrants are necessary to fight crime, but know they must not be abused. South Georgia law enforcement officers use no knock search warrants, but Dougherty County Sheriff's Investigator Craig Dodd says officers must prove to a judge a reason for one. "In order to get a no knock search warrant, you have to list for the judge who signs it very specific reasons. You can't get a no knock search warrant for just any reason." The no knock search warrant allows Police to burst into your home or business with just an announcement of who they are. Chief Judge Loring Gray says requests for these warrants require serious thought. "We have the greatest respect for the Fourth Amendment and we believe in the sanctity of a person's property." Dodd worked in drug task forces where he said no knock search warrants were needed. But he says officers are not eager to use them, because of the danger. Former District Attorney Brown Moseley says, "No knock search warrants are at times absolutely necessary. But across the state, it's been very much abused." With the attention brought by the investigation into the shooting death of Kathryn Johnston in Atlanta, Judge Gray says search warrants will be even more closely judged. "But it's something that will certainly be forefront in my mind when we start talking about no knock search warrants, or search warrants of any kind for that matter," the judge said. Dodd says law enforcement officers need the no knock search warrants at times, for their safety. And says Police who abuse the policy hurt other law enforcers. Kathryn Johnston was buried today. The Atlanta Police officers who raided her home are on paid leave while the shooting is investigated by the FBI. www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=5740174&nav=5kZQ
|
|
|
Post by Elvis presley on Dec 1, 2006 21:52:13 GMT -5
Horray to the 2 gun double barrel grandma!!!
|
|
|
Post by WaTcHeR on Dec 2, 2006 10:30:59 GMT -5
12.02.2006 - ATLANTA Atlanta police are heard on 9-1-1 tapes urgently calling for medical help and backup after an elderly woman was killed in a shootout with narcotics officers.
Police were serving a search warrant November 21st at the home of Kathryn Johnston when the shootout happened. Three officers were wounded.
The tapes, obtained by The Associated Press, feature a clear sense of urgency in their voices. Moments of brief shouting can be heard as officers work to coordinate their efforts.
F-B-I agents are investigating Johnston's shooting. Tapes are not available of the narcotics officers' initial confrontation because that division's communications are considered confidential.
Johnston's exact age isn't clear. Relatives says she was 92. The medical examiner says she was 88.
The officers involved in the shooting are on paid leave.
|
|
|
Post by KC on Dec 3, 2006 18:45:11 GMT -5
The Rev. Al Sharpton shook his head as he walked past the crime scene tape and makeshift memorials outside the home of Kathryn Johnston, the elderly woman gunned down last month by narcotics police officers serving a warrant there. "Terrible," he muttered Sunday morning as he turned away from the scene of teddy bears and a wreath laid in front of the tan brick house. Sharpton said Johnston's death _ along with the death of 23-year-old groom-to-be Sean Bell, who was fatally shot by police on his wedding day outside a Queens, N.Y., strip club _ is an example of "a new sense of police recklessness" sweeping the country. "Something stinks in this case," he said. "In fact, it smelled so bad that I smelled it in New York." Sharpton stood with local activists and called for the incoming Congress to address the issue of policing on a federal level. "There seems to be a new spirit in law enforcement that they can become the judge, jury and executioner of the law on the scene," Sharpton said. Such a mentality enforces a police state, he said, and sends a message to law enforcement that due process means nothing. "Police apprehend suspects; they don't kill them," Sharpton said. "This cannot be tolerated in a civilized society." Johnston _ who her family said was 92, but was 88 according to the county medical examiner _ had few visitors and lived in fear in Vine City. The northwest Atlanta neighborhood near the Atlanta University Center and the Georgia Dome is plagued with crime and drugs. The elderly woman was home alone the night of Nov. 21 when a group of plainclothes officers burst in, searching for drugs. Johnston opened fire, wounding three officers before she was shot to death. The officers had obtained a "no-knock" warrant earlier that day after they said an informant bought drugs at the house from a man who has not been arrested. The informant later denied buying drugs at Johnston's home and said he was told by police to lie about the incident, Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington said, adding that informant, who's in protective custody, is a key part of the FBI-led investigation into the shootout. The Rev. Markel Hutchins has led the community response to Johnston's shooting and prayed with Sharpton in front of her home, praising Johnston's life, legacy and courage. "We pray that this day will be a catalyst for change in this community and for congressional action," Hutchins said. Sharpton has been at the forefront of the Queens shooting. Bell and his friends were leaving his bachelor party on Nov. 25 when the group was hit by a hail of police bullets. Police have said that Bell's vehicle hit one officer and an unmarked police car, and officers apparently thought one of Bell's companions was about to get to a gun. Critics say the use of force was not justified, pointing to the firing of more than 50 shots. Sharpton said Sunday that federal standards for policing are needed, and the pattern of policies like no-knock warrants and the use of informants is a civil rights issue that should be under investigation along with individual incidents like the Johnston and Bell shootings. "A crime is a crime whether the perpetrator has on a blue uniform or blue jeans," Sharpton said. www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfullstory.asp?ID=84048
|
|