Kathryn Johnston
I blogged this story when it first broke and promised updates. [Click Here for Earlier Post.] I’ve avoided incremental developments along the way– interesting though they have been. But now the shit is really starting to hit the fan.
WSB TV– 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston was shot and killed after she fired on undercover officers as they staged a drug raid on her Neal Street home.
Now, and investigative source tells Channel 2, Detective Gregg Junior has informed the FBI that information presented by police to obtain the warrant was not accurate.
In the warrant application, the officers told the court November 21st that a man named “Sam” had sold cocaine to their informant at Johnston’s home. Now, an investigative source tells Channel 2 the actual source of the officers’ information was an alleged drug dealer named Fabian Sheets – who later claimed he had been pressured, after the fact, to go along with the officer’s story.
—–
11-Alive– 11Alive News has learned from sources that Fulton County’s district attorney will pursue criminal charges against police officers in the death of Kathryn Johnson.
Officers say they had to pry burglar bars off her front door before barging in. That apparently gave Johnston enough time to arm herself in self-defense.
What happened after that is still unclear, but sources say the actions of at least some of the officers serving the warrant could result in murder charges.
So far, the FBI has been leading the investigation into the case. But sources say that U.S. Attorney David Nahmias and Fulton County D.A. Paul Howard will meet to discuss the investigation results, and that it is all but concluded that the charges will come from Howard’s office.
Let’s not forget that this investigation would not have gotten this far without the insistence and determination of Ms. Johnston’s friends, neighbors, and family.
Did all the police involved know that the information to gain the warrent was false? If not how can they be blamed. I mean come on she shot at them.
1. “I mean come on she shot at them. “
And they busted down her door, without knocking, and with their guns drawn!
America has got to make a choice. If we have the right to possess guns, we should also have the right to use them against anyone who breaks down our front door!
If the police want to avoid being shot at accidentally, they should knock and wait for someone to come to the door prior to knocking it down and crashing in.
The police nopt only knew it was false, they were the ones who fabricated it- and forced an informant to go along with the story. That makes this more than tragic overkill, it makes it murder.
1. “I mean come on she shot at them. “
If you were a 92 years old woman, lived alone, were stuck in a high crime neighborhood, had bought a gun to protect yourself and someone who didn’t identify themselves was breaking down your door what would you do?
Steve
I love it when cops go to jail. It sorta makes me believe in karma.
#5 – This is nothing to celebrate.
I don’t like cops either – correction I don’t like donut eaters & ticket givers – but for the rest, its a shit job, pays very little and if someone didn’t do it we’d be some shitty little asshole of a country like Iraq or Sudan.
Its a job I couldn’t do & if I had to I’d most likely be a bigger asshole than what you might get now.
#6, guess what,,you are that shitty country where they shoot old women,tell her children to be thankful they live in the U.S,,.that will make them feel better,,or better yet, tell her she lived in a great country,,92 yrs. old & murdered by her own country,,gives you something to look forward to..you could be next…
that was just my rant,, now i must say,my condolences,she & her life are the story..
#7 – Actually we live in a country that will in most likely hood the people responsible will be arrested & tried even though they are police. If you think I want civilians, 92 years old or otherwise, shot by anyone much less the police you are a big fat asshole.
The reality is that her odds of anyone being shot by police for any reason are were far fewer than being shot by some gang banger – that why she had the gun in the first place.
You know there are civilian review boards – if you wish to change the situation why don’t you sign up? They usually have to go out of their way to find people to serve. Why not you?
You may not like it but police are necessary, otherwise its just some bully with a gun who tells you what to do & if you were willing to think clearly you would realize that. Our police are at least under civilian control.
“America has got to make a choice: If we have the right to possess guns, we should also have the right to….”
Shoot ducks? Yeah ok, sure. After all, I man’s gotta hunt doesn’t he.
If only a sensible choice could really be made here.
Wow, the word “s h i t” used in a blog entry — classy and professional!
10. Wow, the words “c l a s s y” and “p r o f e s s i o n a l” used in a blog comment. How idiotic!
Wow, the word “WoW” used in a blog entry that doesn’t have anything to do with MMORPGs! How old fashioned!
This is what you get when you run broken, low quality people through the Police Academy.
No-knock raids are a travesty.
I hope they throw the book at the cops.
#12.
And Booya wins!
I think the key here is that the facts would not have come out unless the family pushed for it. The thing is that the only way a D.A. would go after cops for a murder charge is if something really stunk. A D.A. is highly dependent on working well with police.
The idea that “we need cops” to protect us is crazy in this case. We need doctors too but not doctors who operate on the wrong leg or practice while drunk. Our society certainly needs good cops but it does not need these cops.
A friend of mine was thrown in the clink because of an expired car registration sticker. The cop put on cuffs so tight they left red marks around his wrists. The cop lied in the police report, and six hours later, my friend was led in shackles to a judge/justice of the peace. Yes, the guy who does marriage ceremonies was his judge. His car was impounded at a hundred dollar fee. Even though he later learned that the most he could have paid was $500, his lawyer charged a $1000 retainer. The whole incident wound up costing him close to $2000 when you count in lost wages.
For everyone who thinks there must have been something else the cop suspected, I should point out the cop was later fired over the incident. And for all of you who think this was an isolated incident, the Supreme Court ruled that it was legal to throw someone in jail just for not using their seatbelt. In my state, the charge against my friend was a Class C misdemeanor which is the same as what you get for not using a seat belt, not using a turn signal, or going one mile an hour over the speed limit. For all the talk of freedom, a cop can throw you in jail anytime he feels like it. How are you going to prove you did in fact use a turn signal? I have little sympathy when it comes to the police and their misuse of power.
The thing that got me in this homicide was the police’s justification. As if it justified her death, the cops said this 92 year old woman had drugs in her apartment. And? To me, if the cops had any brains at all, they admit they screwed up, apologize, pay damages, and promise never to be that stupid again… but apologizing is not in a cop’s DNA.
We have a higher percentage of our population in jail than any other country in the world while our crime rate is going down. Given this incident, maybe it is time we start talking about fewer jails and less cops. When it comes to freedom, this country talks the talk but does not walk the walk.
The line used to be your front door. The police had to have strong probable cause to even come to your home let alone bust in. That was reserved for the most dangerous most likely to resist arrest by firing back. Now it seems any provocation is just cause to enter your castle.
you all, especially the poster, need to get your facts straight. while it was a no knock warrant, the police knocked on the door and told her to open it. they announced themselves as police and broke down the door only after nobody opened the door. furthermore, they were wearing bullet proof vests emblazoned with “POLICE.” as a resident of atlanta, the outcry against the police in this instance angers me. the woman, may she rest in peace, was waiting with he gun. she shot THREE police officers before they shot her. its an unfortunate situation, and i feel for the woman’s family. however, murder charges would be ridiculous in this case. perhaps the police erred in obtaining information from an unreliable informant, but they had good intentions and should not be crucified for defending their lives just because it happened to be an old woman.
#18, jim
The truly scary part is you might actually believe this. The police are there to protect us. That did not happen in this case. They pried off the burglar bars on her front door then smashed it down. The only statement that they were police comes from YOU. Because it was a no knock warrant, they were not required to knock. Second, the Police knew the information was tainted. Third, regardless of what they were wearing, those coats say POLICE on the backs, not on the front where the woman would have seen them. Your arguments are bull.
At a minimum that should be negligent homicide. However, because regular citizens would be charged with First Degree Murder under similar circumstances, I also think the Police should too.
She winged three of ’em. Just think, if she’d of had more firepower, SHE would be on trial for shooting the cops. Atlanta is pretty much somewhere in the dang Twilight Zone. I can say that because I’m from the Metro area.
On 11 and 12. Nothing but net on both of those. You da bloggers!
On the unfunny subject of the story. It seems to me that the ADP and every other police organization has a responsibility that goes along with their authority to use force, to make themselves aware of basic information regarding residents where a warrant is being served. For example, a minimal effort would be to arrive at the location and ask neighbors, “who would you expect to be in that house?” You can bet your butt more would have been done along these lines if the address had been West Paces Ferry or Valley Drive. For their own safety, and that of neighbors and any innocent occupants of the house, the police should have done more than just show up at the house and start the fact finding and investigation by breaking down a door. Based on what seems to be the level of intelligence which had been gathered prior to the raid and the “wing it” execution of the process, these police didn’t know if they were walking into a den of thugs with AK-47s or sleepover party for ten-year-olds. The quality of work here was nothing more than just simply (cover your eyes #10) shit.
Justice is only just when it applies to everyone, cops included.
All too often, the courts give unjust latitude to cops, mostly because of their dependence on them to enforce their rulings and gather incriminatory evidence for the DA. That make the courts frequently unjust.
People like to state “It’s a dangerous job”. Their job is never more dangerous then what soldiers daily face in war; yet we hold soldiers responsible for murder. I would bet more soldiers have been convicted of murder then cops. Not because soldiers commit more murder instead its our unjust courts excusing the unjust acts of cops.