Posted on 02/07/2007 3:26:10 PM PST by rawhide
Fulton DA seeks charges in shooting of 92-year-old woman in her home
The Fulton County district attorney will seek felony murder charges against at least one of the three Atlanta police officers who shot and killed an elderly woman in a botched drug raid, according to one of the officer's attorneys.
Defense attorney Rand Csehy, who is representing Gregg Junnier, said he received an e-mail message from District Attorney Paul Howard's office today saying the DA would seek charges before a grand jury Feb. 26.
"It's an overbroad indictment," said an angry Csehy. He said that Howard's office has "broken with the federal government. Paul Howard is no longer part of a joint investigation."
Csehy said that his client had been cooperating with authorities.
On Nov. 21, three narcotics officers went to the home of Kathryn Johnston, 92, to execute a "no knock" warrant. A shootout ensued during which Johnston was killed and the three officers were injured.
"No knock" warrants are frequently issued so police can get inside before suspects can destroy or flush any drugs. When the officers kicked in the door, the elderly woman apparently got off five shots from her own revolver, hitting all three police officers.
Friends and family members of Johnston contended that she was a feeble and frightened woman, who rarely ventured outside after dark and knew few people. And they say that she was never involved in any drug activity.
The three officers, Gregg Junnier, Gary A. Smith and Cary A. Bond, were put on administrative leave.
(Excerpt) Read more at ajc.com ...
I've always thought there's a certain beauty in forcing a crackhead to flush his own drugs down the toilet.
Nice try, backtracking. You have spent this whole post constructing theories, not supported by fact, to justify why these officers did what they did.
Which is why LEOs on *ANY* raid should have to wear something clearly identifying themselves as LEOs, like a UNIFORM!
I'm a LEO, and I'm sick of seeing raids with guys in plainclothes with raid jackets on. You can get a raid jacket off ebay for less than $10, for pete's sake.
I'm equally sick of seeing cops that look like they're fixing to patrol downtown Baghdad. I don't think there's any reason for cops to wear camouflage of any variety, and very little reason for them to wear a load-bearing vest, thus looking like Tactical Tommy.
"It wasn't the wrong house. It was just the wrong door. Other news items (not this one) reported that the police LATER found drugs in the locked (padlocked) basement of the house. Apparently "junior" HAD been selling or partaking from the address, but grandma was not involved or aware. "
There's an unwritten rule here if you are posting an unknown like your above, it is a courtesy to provide a link.
Your comment is bogus considering what is known in this case. You are the first to provide a "junior in the basement." Can you back up your claim?
I think the cops must be suspected of planting the gun?
So now these poor cops are gonna get Nifonged.
Wrong, they are going to get prosecuted and I hope nailed to the wall along with every person connected to this tyranny. In the WOD there are many casualties and people caught in the crossfire as the govt. enforces the black market monopoly it has set up for the drug cartels. More often than not it's innocent citizens and thier liberties that are the casualty. This time is was a couple of cops who were seduced by the dark side of the WOD and went bad.
But the Wackenhut stock is doing pretty well, so let's just wait for the dividends.
Rodney -- based on what I heard/saw in the news, **in fact** what was REPEATEDLY presented early on, it looked like these cops were not 'cowboy' miscreants. I based my comments on what I personally observed, and was open about why I held my positions and opinions. While I did not post the sacred links to a print/online article, I did point out that I observed these reports on the news and provided the general urls. That's good enough for me for discussion's sake.
Now, if subsequent information demonstrates (as it appears to) these guys did, on their own, lie, cover up etc., and an innocent woman died as a result of their collusion, negligence and fraud, then I am happy to see them go down. I even said that in several of my posts. As far as justifying (meaning making right) what they did, the early 'evidence' available to me looked like they were negligent and misfortunate, not criminal. As the thread progressed, many people posted down-stream information that leads a reasonable person to conclude that these guys, for whatever reason, wanted to bust up THIS house. They screwed up, they lied about it, and an innocent lady died .. and they continued to lie/ cover up/ obstruct. No way to justify that series of actions.
When your opinion/position changes based upon the progressive realization of facts, that is called learning, not backtracking. I am happy to do that-- learn. Are you?
What I am not going to agree to is to try these guys in the media. They do not have to prove themselves innocent. The State has to prove they are guilty. Even thought the recent reports in the media are quite damning, convincingly so, they don't need to be lynched. And they don't need to go down alone. This action smells of bad policy that goes all the way to the top.
Last point -- I was not just 'constructing theories, not supported by fact'. Actually they were supported "by fact" -- actual reports in the news supported my points; my position just appear to not be supported "in fact" (that is the actual events were not reported factually). That is a critical distinction. I don't mind a FReeper who contests positions, presents/ disputes evidence. But geesh man, lighten up on the personals, OK?? This place is about discussion (that's why it's called a forum). GO after my opinion, my sources, my pig-headedness, but not the poster, OK?
How 'bout we agree that my opinion changed, improved, as a result of this thread presenting more and better information as it progressed?
Pretty much. You're not going to get a kilo of coke or a more than a handful of crack or meth down the toilet in a few minutes, so what's the justification for these no knock raids again?
If there are known to be heavy weapons and the will to use it, go ahead, raid. Otherwise, knock, give them 60-90 seconds(or whatever is the right number) and take out the door. That should be enough to save us regular, law abiding folks from this kind of insanity.
I'd say 60 to 90 seconds would be long enough to wait for someone to come to the door, generally speaking, assuming you're not doing the raid in the middle of the night at 2 or 3 am.
See #106, and other posts where I directly apologize for my opening my big mouth before learning the facts.
If the cops switch off the water supply before entry, the crooks will only get one flush unless they have a lot of bottled water handy.
That's what happened. Plus the bit that they were undercover, so they looked like a bunch of thugs doing a home invasion in a high-crime neighborhood.
Leftists ALWAYS defend the raids that conservatives have protested. The ones I know righteously defend the police always but then say the law is bad. My prof friend at UF who is as left as one can go and still eat living matter(veggies) seems to only be concerned that the police are controlled by the wrong people.
Huh? Leftists have always distrusted the police while social conservatives have always worshiped them. We can't blame this mess on the leftists - the blame for the militarization and attitudes of our police rest solely on the back of social conservatives.
The only raids that the leftists have liked have been the one on Waco and the Elian raids.
I don't care if they're wearing a uniform or not. If someone breaks down my door, they're going to come under fire if I have a weapon handy. You're not coming into my house until you identify yourself and show me a warrant.
bump
Maybe, just maybe, there will be some justice in this case. Prayers for the elderly woman defending her home. I wonder if the small amount of dope was planted after the incident to justify the unjustifiable no nock raid.
The allegation is that the officers lied to get the warrant.
You had come of age in an America where police needed search warrants and knocked loudly on the door and called out loudly "POLICE,open the door,we have a warrant" or some variation.You had sen this on thousands of cop shows like Hawaii 50,Dragnet,FBI,Adam-12,etc.You being elderly don't sit up after midnight to watch the more modern COPS and their violent street thug antics. By the time time you have fired several shots the thugs who smashed in your door have reacted to your audacity in resisting this home invasion and began firing. You fire another shot or two convulsively as bullets strike you and your surroundings. You are not going to live to tell your side.
Some people will question how you managed to score so many hits on the intruders,ignoring that several people standing or moving in a tight group make it near certain that every bullet fired will hit one of them.
They bust the door down, she pulls a revolver and starts blasting, they kill her returning fire, and this somehow a murder ? A tragic accident, at worst.”
Tragic accident my a$$. If the cops want to kick doors of drug dealers, so be it, but if they’re too stupid to get the correct door and get shot at,tough.If they kick the wrong door and kill an innocent citizen, it should be murder.
If a burgler kicks your door and comes in with a gun, you are within your rights to blow his head off.
If you KNOW there is no reason for cops to be raiding your home (92 yr old woman),self preservation would be telling you to protect yourself.
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