http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061122/ap_ ... y_shootout

ATLANTA - The niece of a 92-year-old woman shot to death by police said her aunt likely had reason to shoot three narcotics investigators as they stormed her house.


Police insisted the officers did everything right before entering the home Tuesday evening, despite suggestions from the woman's neighbors and relatives that it was a case of mistaken identity.

The woman, Kathryn Johnston, was the only resident in the house at the time and had lived there for about 17 years, Assistant Chief Alan Dreher said. The officers had a legal warrant, "knocked and announced" before they forced open the door and were justified in shooting once fired upon, he said.

Sarah Dozier, the niece, told WAGA-TV that there were never 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."

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.

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.

Rev. Markel Hutchins, a civil rights leader, said Johnston's family deserves an apology.

"Of the police brutality cases we've had, this is the most egregious because of the woman's age," Hutchins said.

Hutchins said he would try to meet with Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington and would also meet with lawyers.

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So, after she shot the 3rd officer they weren't justified?
If I were the Atlanta PD Chief I'd simply ask what the problem is with taking lethal force against someone who's shot THREE officers.

This War on Drugs is a brilliant success.

She's a pretty damn good shot at 92!!



Why are the police raiding a 92 year old woman's home? You would think that they would have scoped out the residence for awhile before doing a raid. Somebody should have noticed that she was probably not who they were looking for.

They had a valid (if erroneously issued) warrant, and they burst through the door unannounced.

As if the war on drugs weren't stupid enough, one of the erosions of our constitutional freedoms that has come directly from the war on drugs is the elimination of the "knock and announce" rule. Because evidence of drug activity can be so quickly and easily destroyed, courts have made it possible over the last 40 years for police in executing drug warrants to simply burst through people's doors unannounced to catch people unaware. Unsurprisingly, some people defend themselves when a bunch of people break down their front door, especially when they live in a dangerous neighborhood where drugs are sold next door.

And I hope, as the PD Chief, you'd take some responsibility for the fact that your officers should have never been in that house in the first place. Just because the entry wasn't illegal, doesn't mean it was good police work.

The article said they did "knock and announce".

But either way, why is a warrent being issued to break down a 92 year old woman's door? That just seems like a pretty big dumbass mistake to make. Especially considering it got 3 cops shot and an old lady killed for no fucking reason.

- Lazy and/or unskilled detectives.
- Flippant judges.
- Weak oversight by police supervisors.

I'll use the WMD defense.

We can't wait until the smoking gun appears in the form of a marijuana cloud!!

just as the war in iraq, it is succesful, just not to us. the prison system is being privatized so now it is in the best intertest of profit to continue to lock up drug offenders on a mass scale. people wonder why we have the worlds largest prison population (except china i believe), pretty simple if you ask me. it has become an industry.

the war on drugs will not be as needed when we decide to wage a war against poverty, which doesnt look like it is going to happen for a while unfortunately

The article also said, "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. "

That makes it seem like she started shooting at the cops before they even got to the door.

She was obviously high on crack.

thats a pretty good pic actually

does anyone here really believe that if they started shooting at police officers they wont get fired back upon?

Does anyone actully think the woman would be dead if the cops didn't fuck up?

ive been pulled over before by mistake, i didnt open fire on the cops

I'm sure the plain clothes officers who burst through her front door with guns were obviously police officers to a 92 year-old woman.

This is the problem with this whole method of executing warrants. IT'S DANGEROUS. It's like atrocities in war. They are going to happen no matter how well trained your military is, and that is why wars (or in this case breaking down the door to execute a warrant) should be used only as last a resort.

Does anyone actually think that this little old lady wasn't just confused and didn't realize that these were cops?

Good point. Thats pretty much exactly like a bunch of plain clothes cops kicking your door down.