Ex-Atlanta cops get prison for drug raid killing(92 Year Old Woman)

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution

A federal judge on Tuesday handed down varying prison terms to three Atlanta police officers for their roles in the notorious 2006 drug raid that left an elderly woman dead and disgraced the department’s narcotics unit.

U.S. District Judge Julie Carnes sentenced former officer Gregg Junnier to six years in prison, Jason Smith to 10 years in prison and Arthur Tesler to 5 years in prison.

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The trio of officers was involved in a Nov. 21, 2006, drug raid at the Neal Street home of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston.

She was killed by officers after they used a no-knock warrant — obtained with falsified evidence — to storm into her house in search of drugs an informant had inaccurately told them were inside. Apparently thinking the officers were robbers, Johnston fired a shot through the door. Officers responded with 39 shots, five or six of which struck her.

The officers initially sought to cover up their actions in obtaining the warrant, but their story eventually unraveled. All three pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate Johnston’s civil rights.



Read more: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2009/02/23/johnston_sentencing.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab

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Kathryn Johnston, the Atlanta woman mistakenly killed by police, is seen in a family photo.

Good - these jerks deserved even more time!

[groovedaddy]

1. No Knock warrants SUCK big time! Hopefully, this will send a message. n.t

[dem mba]

12. well I can understand when they would be necessary

but only with copious amounts of evidence and testimony to back it up.

and not for something as stupid as drugs. use a no-knock warrant on al qaeda suspects or unabombers or something, but not this crap.

[Winterblues]

19. Do you honestly believe Al Qaeda is more dangerous to you than

American Street thugs? I believe your chance of getting struck by lightening is far greater than being involved in some terror attack, and being a victim of Crime by Street Thugs far more likely than either.

[dem mba]

22. can't they both be dangerous?

I am more likely to be killed by thugs than al qaeda, yes,I totally agree. However, we weren't talking about statistical chances, we were talking about when the police have a warrant on a suspect.

If they have warrants on suspected Al Qaeda and warrants on suspected Crypts, I would prefer they bust in on al Qaeda guys with fertilizer bombs first.

[midnight]

25. Be careful with handing over your rights to this thinking. It is what

took this lovely women's life away.

[dem mba]

27. i don't have to hand over my rights to anyone

they've already been taken away...

But my point is that this is a powerful weapon for the police to use to catch dangerous criminals by surprise. SWAT teams across America are abusing this tactic (because of the stupid WoD), and are not using these warrants for their intended purpose. I would just as soon try to ban spoons from kitchens across America because junkies use them for heroin. Just because something isn't used for its intended purpose doesn't mean it should be banned outright.

[groovedaddy]

32. The Patriot Act already allows "no knocks" in terrorist investigations and the Feds are using this

provision. It's still dangerous.

[Donnachaidh]

2. "The officers will not be eligible for parole in the federal system."

Good.

Bastards should have gotten the full terms thrown at them. :grr:

[LostinVA]

3. They have have gotten 20-50, no shortened sentences

They murdered her on what they knew were bad tips then LIED about both the situation and about the poor woman.

I hope tehy nget beat up in jail.

[RebelOne]

7. I am expecting that they will get beat up in jail.

You know prison inmates don't take to cops too kindly. Especially, cops that shot a 92-year-old woman.

[al bupp]

21. You're essentially advocating for torture, you realize?

Why don't we just send them to Guantanamo? Oh, right, Obama's closing that, well them we could just rendition them to some country that tortures them for us!

Prisons should not be places of violence and un-officially, but nonetheless tolerated mayhem. Winking at beatings and other forms of brutalization serves no end other than simple retribution, and demeans us all, not to mention being counter productive. If that's what you want, then you might try Saudi Arabia where they sever hands for some offenses. But hey, at least they're straight-forward about it.

[RebelOne]

33. I am not advocating for any torture.

I was just stating what could happen and what has happened in prison.

[whopis01]

34. He isn't advocating anything of the sort

Just because you state a fact doesn't mean that you are advocating it.

[Dogtown]

11. Federal BoP

The federal system is tiered; cops automatically get time in minimum security "prison camps"; typically on air bases.

Fellow inmates will be non-violent tax-evaders and mid-level druggies that have rolled-over on anyone they could give up to DEA.

"Soft" time; these guys have only boredom & lack of privacy to worry about.

[saigon68]

24. Its called Club FED--- Maxwell AFB

Putting greens, Tennis Courts etc.


MORE:

http://www.federalprisonconsultants.com/federalprisonexpert.html

Edward S. Bales, who runs a national consulting firm specializing in federal prison, said that Siegelman can expect a prison sentence in the four-to-eight-year range. With no prior criminal record and no history of violence, he said, the ex-governor probably would spend his time in a minimum-security prison camp.

Life at such camps is regimented but also fairly comfortable, Bales said, with opportunities for reading, exercise and outdoor recreation. "Everybody calls it Club Fed, and in many ways they are Club Fed compared to state prisons," he said.

"No bars. No locks on doors. You live in dormitory-style arrangements," said Lambert Mims, a former Mobile mayor who spent 3½ years in prison after a federal jury in Mobile convicted him of corruption. "You can walk away if you want to, but you have to be prepared to pay the consequences." Mims, who discussed his time at the Maxwell Air Force Base prison camp in a recent memoir, said in an interview that his experience was more pleasant than he had anticipated.

"The place was super clean. Every blade of grass was in the right place," he said. "The food was not too bad." "It would remind you of a college dormitory. The rooms are smaller," said Bales, whose company helps defendants in federal court try to mitigate their sentences and offers expert witnesses.Mims said the Maxwell prison had tennis courts, soccer and softball fields and bocce ball. It also had a woodworking shop, he said. Mims said his fellow inmates included a former member of Congress, a pair of former state attorneys general, county commissioners, city councilmen and other elected officials.

[LostinVA]

31. I didn't realize that -- that makes me sick

[Dogtown]

35. Most government employees

including federal judges end up in minimum security camps. Saturday is 'donut day' and Sunday they do brunch. Not joking, it's really like that.

The commissary sells ice cream.

[Marrah_G]

4. Good- I wish they were given more time though

[Taverner]

5. JUSTICE!

[pleah]

6. Good.

I'm surprised they got jail time. I'm so used to seeing cops get off with barely a slap on the wrist.

[Donnachaidh]

10. they found 12 bullets in this woman at the autopsy

If they had let these guys go with a slap on the wrist they would have a shitstorm to deal with. As it is they didn't get enough time (my opinion, ymmv). TWELVE BULLETS in a 92 year old woman. Big BRAVE Atlanta cops kicking down a door and killing a 92 year old woman.

[pleah]

17. I hear ya,

I don't think it is nearly enough time, either, but, I'm glad they got time.

[midnight]

26. I remember this story, and it is no easier hearing it today.

[file83]

29. Remember that story a while back how some TV show tricked the police

into thinking some empty home was a drug growing operation? The police got a warrant using 100% illegal methods, convinced a judge they had "solid evidence", obtained the warrant, and when they invaded the house, there were 2 X-mas trees growing under a grow light.

It proved that the police are totally violating the law during these "legal searches".

[bluestateguy]

8. I love it when cops get sent to jail

Makes me feel good inside.

[toopers]

30. You should rethink your position . . .

I love it when criminals get sent to jail, not the cops that help protect us from them! These guys were criminals.

[Grinchie]

9. Cops lying? Making stories up?

So much for the "Expert Witnesses" alibi.

[hootinholler]

13. Warrants fraudulently obtained suck even more

They should have been brought up on fraud and perjury charges as well.

:grr:

-Hoot

[wroberts189]

14. Cops did not even know what they were aiming at.

Could have been a child in there as well.

[Uncle Joe]

15. This lady was a direct casualty from the asinine, insane, Orwellian,

Big Brother loving policy of the "War Against Drugs," "War Against Inanimate Objects," "War Against The American People's Freedom and Privacy."

The Bill of Rights protecting the American People against oppressive government were put in place for good reason.

[tech3149]

18. In some sense, you may be right

From my POV, it's a result of the militarization of our LEO's since the early 70's. Back then, when SWAT team tactics and tools were used, it was a known life-threatening situation. Since there implementation, it's been a progressive acceleration of their use for less threatening and deadly situations.

There are probably two main reasons for this. First is probably justifying the expenditure to assure next year won't be less than last years. The survival instinct for institutions. Second is the "Big Boys, Big Toys" syndrome. If you have tools at your disposal, you want to use them whenever possible.

Another aspect is the psychology of those involved. Unfortunately, too many are drawn to law enforcement because they see it as a way to exert influence on others. It may most likely be subconscious, but it's still a factor.

This isn't a problem that's going to go away soon so I hope we can all keep a level head and not fly off the handle.
I hope that law enforcement can "police themselves" as far as who they hire and define their mission goal and the public can avoid the 'fear factor" and not blast at any possible threat.

I remember this story when it first hit the wires, I thought that considering the neighborhood, the victim was justified. Considering the neighborhood, the cops were just trying to stay alive. I can't evaluate the veracity of their tip, but for me, if it wasn't at least 90%, I would have gone for surveillance rather than a militant action against a questionable threat.

I might be the eternal optimist and naive liberal, but I don't want to take another life unless I know it's needed.

[bemildred]

23. Neighborhoods don't justify shit.

Just saying. Law enforcement's mandate is to serve an protect, not to protect its own ass. It was not this woman's responsibility to protect the drug cops, and none of her rights or the cops obligations were abrogated by her inability to afford better housing.

[Shakespeare]

16. One of my favorite singer/songwriters, Shawn Mullins, wrote a song about this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK9hJUYfIxk

[davepc]

20. If your a cop murder doesn't get you 25-life. It gets you 5 years.

Sicking.

[file83]

28. "No-Knock" warrants are a very dangerous and un-American policy.

It's dangerous because the policy DISCOURAGES citizens from defending themselves against home invasion.

I have no idea why they even do them, except of course, it makes it SAFER for the police officers by giving them the element of surprise.

My take on this is that murder or no murder, if the officers perform a no-knock invasion on your home based on FAULTY testimony/evidence/error, then the officer in charge of the operation needs to go to jail, straight up. And for a long time. Nothing is held more sacred in this country of "freedom" than the right of a citizen to defend their home without fear that they may (without knowledge) be fighting against the VERY PEOPLE WHO SHOULD BE PROTECTING THEM.

This idea that they can do this WITHOUT consequence (if no one is murdered by the officers) is beyond me. It's the dictionary definition of police-state.

[christx30]

36. But there COULD have been drugs in the house!

:sarcasm:

too much has been lost to the WoT and the WoD.
We're funding both sides of both, and we will never win either. I think it all comes down to government agencies with too much power and their love to exercise it. I have a very dim view of cops and the FBI and ATF.