Officer Involved in Deadly Atlanta Drug Raid Pleads Guilty

By TChris, Section Misconduct
Posted on Fri Oct 31, 2008 at 07:45:32 PM EST
Tags: (all tags)

Share This: Digg!

Almost two years ago, TalkLeft began a series of posts addressing the death of Kathryn Johnston, a 92 year old woman who was killed by police officers during a drug raid in Atlanta. The officer who swore to the search warrant application invented an undercover drug buy in the woman's residence that never occurred.

The officers lied to a judge, smashed in Johnston’s door and unloaded 39 shots at the elderly woman as she fired a shot at the invaders with an old revolver. One officer then handcuffed Johnston as she lay dying. Drugs were then planted in her basement.

Two involved officers were convicted of manslaughter in state court and federal civil rights charges. They are awaiting sentencing. A third just entered a guilty plea to a federal charge of conspiring to violate civil rights in exchange for a recommended sentence of about 10 years. That officer is already serving a 4 1/2 year sentence for lying to investigators about the botched raid.

< Demography Is Political Destiny: WaPo Analysis | Michigan Should Repeal Juvenile Sentences of Life Without Parole >

Legal

Nothing on this site should be construed as legal advice. TalkLeft does not give legal advice.

TalkLeft is not responsible for and often disagrees with material posted in the comments section. Read at your own risk.

Officer Involved in Deadly Atlanta Drug Raid Pleads Guilty | 8 comments (8 topical)

Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment

I'm sorry (none / 0) (#1)
by progrocks on Fri Oct 31, 2008 at 08:29:54 PM EST

but reading case after case of criminal procedure, I came to the conclusion that police never lie. That is the only way you could buy into any of the fact patterns. therefore, this can not be true.

Cops = heroes (none / 0) (#2)
by paschn on Fri Oct 31, 2008 at 09:30:23 PM EST

About 100 years ago there was another "civil war" playing out in this country.

It was a war between workers and the ruling class.

On the one side, you had people being worked 10/12 hours a day in unsafe conditions, paid piece work, paid in company "scrip" which had to be spent at company stores to buy items at company prices.

This was before unions or collective bargaining. When workers struck for cause then, they had to deal with strike breakers. Hired mercenaries, (much like the mercenaries in Blackwater today in Iraq and any other place where those in charge need thugs willing to murder for money).

The badge carrying thugs you all love to romantically call heroes were the lackeys used by the elite through their minions in office to club, shoot, arrest, hold unjustly and in some cases burn women and children alive in their tents,(national Guard,Ludlow Colorado). All to make their bosses happy and curry favor with them.
The "heroes" you see walking around with badges and guns shooting, tazing, attacking the old and helpless are of the SAME ILK as were the swine of 100 years ago.
I'm afrain we too will see their true colors in the near future, when they begin filling Haliburton's "detention" centers.
The doughy old white men that make our lives hell are too soft and cowardly to control us on their own, but, as long as there are "hero" cops and "our boys" around, all working hard to curry favor, they, (the elite), will hold control until the lackeys and minions are taken down and those elite stand alone. THEN and only then will they back down and treat men with dignity simply because they are human beings, not for how much money or power they have.

I suggest (none / 0) (#7)
by Wile ECoyote on Sat Nov 01, 2008 at 07:44:35 AM EST

moving to Somolia. They have no doughy white guys wearing badges to worry about. Or any guys wearing badges period.


: Better than Somalia (5.00 / 1) (#8)
by Warren Terrer on Sat Nov 01, 2008 at 10:54:45 AM EST

You Republicans have such high standards :)

Argh!! (none / 0) (#3)
by fiver on Fri Oct 31, 2008 at 10:25:29 PM EST

Has the world gone mad?

at any point, (none / 0) (#4)
by cpinva on Fri Oct 31, 2008 at 10:27:44 PM EST

did anyone ever ask what the purpose of all this was? i could understand if it was someone known to keep large amounts of cash on hand; they break in under color of law, shoot the occupant and steal the money. that almost makes sense. this doesn't now, and never did.

Apparently ... (none / 0) (#5)
by TChris on Fri Oct 31, 2008 at 10:57:21 PM EST

the officers chose to believe an informant who claimed the house was used for drug dealing. When that couldn't be corroborated with an undercover buy, the officers pretended it had been and went barging in with a fraudulently obtained warrant. This is what happens when a gung ho mentality prevails over a faithful adherence to the procedures that safeguard individuals from overzealous police officers.


: Any ideas on (none / 0) (#6)
by JamesTX on Sat Nov 01, 2008 at 01:49:49 AM EST

how the vast majority of the population who support police power unquestionably might be helped to understand this:

This is what happens when a gung ho mentality prevails over a faithful adherence to the procedures that safeguard individuals from overzealous police officers.
Obama doesn't seem to be talking about much change in this area. Even our progressives only abhor unchecked executive authority in the abstract case of the national executive. They still want a police state to operate in their own neighborhoods. As long as only 49% of the population wind up like the 92 year-old in this story, everything stays the same.