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Main Page 3 Atlanta officers indicted in elderly woman's death during raid
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Posted by: kwflatbed

ATLANTA — A grand jury indicted three current and former police officers in the shooting death of an elderly Atlanta woman during a drug raid, a judge said Thursday.
Officers with a no-knock warrant had raided the woman's home without warning on Nov. 21 after an informant said he had bought drugs from a dealer there. Kathryn Johnston, 92, died in an exchange of gunfire after the plainclothes officers burst in.
Gregg Junnier and J.R. Smith were charged in the indictment with felony murder, violation of oath by a public officer, criminal solicitation, burglary, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and making false statements.

Arthur Tesler is charged with violation of oath by a public officer, making false statements, false imprisonment under color of legal process.
Fulton County prosecutors said earlier this year that they intended to seek murder charges against three officers. The three also are expected to face federal charges.
When officers raided Johnston's home without announcing their presence, police say she fired a handgun and officers returned fire. An autopsy report revealed Johnston was shot five or six times in the chest, arms, legs and feet.
Narcotics officers said an informant had claimed there was cocaine in the home, but none was found.
The case raised serious questions about no-knock warrants and whether officers followed the proper procedures.
Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington asked the FBI to lead a multi-agency probe into the shootout. He also announced policy changes to require the department to drug-test its nearly 1,800 officers and mandate that top supervisors sign off on narcotics operations and no-knock warrants.
To get the warrant, officers told a magistrate judge that an undercover informant had told them Johnston's home had surveillance cameras monitored carefully by a drug dealer named "Sam."
After the shooting, a man claiming to be the informant told a television station that he never purchased drugs there, prompting Pennington to admit he was uncertain whether the suspected drug dealer actually existed.

Wire Services

Posted by: kwflatbed

ATLANTA - Two police officers pleaded guilty Thursday to manslaughter in the shooting death of a 92-year-old woman during a botched drug raid last fall. A third officer still faces charges. Officer J.R. Smith told a state judge Thursday that he regretted what had happened.
"I'm sorry," the 35-year-old said, his voice barely audible. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter, violation of oath, criminal solicitation, making false statements and perjury, which was based on claims in a warrant.
Former Officer Gregg Junnier, 40, who retired from the Atlanta police in January, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, violation of oath, criminal solicitation and making false statements. Both men are expected to face more than 10 years in prison.
In a hearing later in federal court, both pleaded guilty to a single charge of conspiracy to violate a person's civil rights, resulting in death. Their state and federal sentences would run concurrently.
The charges followed a Nov. 21 "no-knock" drug raid on the home of Kathryn Johnston, 92. An informant had described buying drugs from a dealer there, police said. When the officers burst in without warning, Johnston fired at them, and they fired back, killing her.
Fulton County prosecutor Peter Johnson said that the officers involved in Johnston's death fired 39 shots, striking her five or six times, including a fatal blow to the chest.
He said Johnston fired only once through her door and didn't hit any of the officers. That means the officers who were wounded likely were hit by their own colleagues, he said.
Junnier and Smith, who is on administrative leave, had been charged in an indictment unsealed earlier Thursday with felony murder, violation of oath by a public officer, criminal solicitation, burglary, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and making false statements.
The third officer, Arthur Tesler, also on administrative leave, was charged with violation of oath by a public officer, making false statements and false imprisonment under color of legal process. His attorney, William McKenney, said Tesler expects to go to trial.
Tesler, 40, is "very relieved" not to face murder charges, McKenney said, "but we're concerned about the three charges."
Both men could have faced up to life in prison had they been convicted of murder. Instead, Junnier will face 10 years and one month and Smith 12 years and seven months. No sentencing date was immediately set, and the sentences are contingent on the men cooperating with the government.
The deadly drug raid had been set up after narcotics officers said an informant had claimed there was cocaine in the home.
When the plainclothes officers burst in without notice, police said, Johnston fired at them, and they fired back.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Yonette Sam-Buchanan said Thursday that although the officers found no drugs in Johnston's home, Smith planted three bags of marijuana in the home as part of a cover story.
The case raised serious questions about no-knock warrants and whether the officers followed proper procedures.
Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington asked the FBI to lead a multi-agency probe. He also announced policy changes to require the department to drug-test its nearly 1,800 officers and require top supervisors to sign off on narcotics operations and no-knock warrants.
To get the warrant, officers told a magistrate judge that an undercover informant had told them Johnston's home had surveillance cameras monitored carefully by a drug dealer named Sam.

After the shooting, a man claiming to be the informant told a television station that he had never purchased drugs there, leading Pennington to admit he was uncertain whether the suspected drug dealer actually existed.
The Rev. Markel Hutchins, a civil rights activist who serves as a spokesman for Johnston's family, said the family was satisfied with Thursday's developments.
"They have never sought vengeance. They have only sought justice," he said.
Hutchins said the family is considering civil action against the police department. "I think what happened today makes it very clear that Ms. Johnston was violated, that her civil rights were violated," he said.

Information From: AP Wire Services

Posted by: JoninNH

Booo hooo!!!

Quote:

...died in an exchange of gunfire...

She shot at cops! Fuck this shit grandma!

Posted by: NFAfan

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoninNH

Booo hooo!!!

She shot at cops! Fuck this shit grandma!

Did you not read the article or are you just prejudicially blind to the crimes committed by the "plainclothes" cops?

Posted by: JoninNH

"The deadly drug raid had been set up after narcotics officers said an informant had claimed there was cocaine in the home. When the plainclothes officers burst in without notice, police said, Johnston fired at them, and they fired back."

Whether or not these cops are bad apples, and surely they are if they're planting dope in the house, this lady shot at a cop. Period. Doesn't matter if they burst in without knocking.

Posted by: NFAfan

You answered my question.

Make sure you never shoot anyone with guns, in plainclothes, kicking in your front door unannounced.

Posted by: 94c

The cops lied, on paper, and someone died.

I know for a fact that there is no reason for someone to come crashing through the door of my house armed. If my gun is close by then I'm openning fire no matter what they are wearing.

Posted by: kwflatbed

Everything was done on the word of a informer and blew up in their faces.

Put yourself in their shoes doing a bust and getting fired at by granny
sitting in her rocker with a gun in her lap,9 out of 10 of you would have
done the same thing these officers did fired back.

Instead of making the snide comments read the whole story it's here
in MassCops if you search.

These officers are going to do hard time and have to live with this the
rest of thier lives and any one of you could be put in the same boat.

Posted by: 94c

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwflatbed

Everything was done on the word of a informer and blew up in their faces.

That is why you NEVER do EVERYTHING on the word of an informer.

It is tragic. But I don't agree with laying the blame completely on an old lady who had absolutely no reason to believe that the police would come crashing through her front door.

Some people chose to be lazy and take the easy way out and it backfired.

Posted by: kwflatbed

Quote:

Originally Posted by 94c

Then why was she sitting there with a gun in her lap ???????????????????

Posted by: 94c

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwflatbed

Then why was she sitting there with a gun in her lap ???????????????????

Last I knew this wasn't a crime.

If you expect us to follow that line of reasoning, then you believe that she was lying and waiting for an ambush.

Since the raiding party were the only ones to know when the warrant would be executed, then who tipped her off? A dirty cop? I doubt it.

Drug work is not the place for corner cutting cops. I have worked with some of them myself and once you set foot in the door you know deep inside that something is not right. Luckily, things have never ended this badly.

And yes, I have had my share of surveillances, controlled buys, dealing with informants and search warrants.

Posted by: JoninNH

Quote:

Originally Posted by 94c

If my gun is close by then I'm openning fire no matter what they are wearing.

And they'd likely return fire, as I would assume you would if you were on a no-knock entry and someone fired at you.

I'm not saying that it's 100% on the old lady. If these cops hadn't cut corners and weren't there, this wouldn't have happened. But if the old lady didn't shoot at the cops, then she wouldn't be dead either.

Quote:

If you expect us to follow that line of reasoning, then you believe that she was lying and waiting for an ambush.

Since the raiding party were the only ones to know when the warrant would be executed, then who tipped her off? A dirty cop? I doubt it.

Maybe there was illegal activity in the house? Maybe she was afraid of home invaders? Maybe she was cleaning it? Maybe it was her drug dealing relatives gun? I don't know, don't care.

Posted by: kwflatbed

Probe into Atlanta Drug Raid Unveils Widespread Corruption

ATLANTA — It started as a federal probe to determine how a botched police raid led to the shooting death of a 92-year-old woman, but it has now expanded into a sweeping investigation into possible corruption in the Atlanta Police Department.

Federal indictments released Thursday assert that Atlanta narcotics officers - including others not implicated in the shooting case - repeatedly lied to judges in order to obtain search warrants, falsely claimed confidential informants purchased drugs and falsified warrants so they could meet goals set by police brass.
The allegations were part of the plea deals negotiated by prosecutors with narcotics officers Gregg Junnier and J.R. Smith in the killing of Kathryn Johnston, but they have implications beyond the three officers charged in the woman's death.
"When you look at the facts as they've developed so far, you have multiple officers involved in multiple actions on multiple occasions," said Gino Brogdon, one of Junnier's attorneys. "And that is systematic."
Federal officials seem to agree. U.S. Attorney David Nahmias said prosecutors will "find out just how wide the culture of misconduct that led to this tragedy extends" and FBI Special Agent Gregory Jones said investigators may pursue more charges.
The indictment stemmed from a Nov. 21 "no-knock" drug raid on Johnston's home in one of Atlanta's roughest neighborhoods.
According to the plea agreement, Smith and other officers were alerted to Johnston's home by a suspected drug dealer Fabian Sheats, who was standing outside a nearby store. Smith planted bags of marijuana under a rock near where Sheats was standing, and later authorities found 10 bags of marijuana and two bags of crack cocaine with him.
When they threatened to charge Sheats, he promised he could direct officers toward a bigger bust, and pointed them to Johnston's home. Sheats said he spotted a kilogram of cocaine there when he went to buy crack from a man named "Sam."
The officers never got an informant to buy drugs at the home, but told a magistrate judge that a drug deal had been made so they could get a search warrant.
Around 6:40 p.m., Smith and another officer pried the metal bars from Johnston's wooden front door and rammed it open. On the other side of the door, Johnston fired a single errant shot from her .38 caliber revolver. It struck none of the officers. Smith, Junnier and four other officers responded by unloading 39 rounds at the woman, striking her five or six times, including a fatal shot to the chest.
Three officers were wounded, apparently by bullets fired by their fellow officers.
After searching the home and finding no drugs, prosecutors said the officers tried to cover up the mistake. Smith handcuffed the dying woman and planted three baggies of marijuana in the basement of her house. He then called informant Alex White and told him to pretend he had bought crack cocaine at the house.
Smith, 35, and Junnier, 40, pleaded guilty Thursday to manslaughter, violation of oath, criminal solicitation and making false statements. Smith also pleaded guilty to a state perjury charge.
Arthur Tesler, a third officer charged in the shooting, faces charges of violation of oath by a public officer, making false statements and false imprisonment under color of legal process.
Federal investigators will now be able to use Smith and Junnier to guide them through the department's policies.
One procedure that is sure to be scrutinized: Monthly goals the department asked its officer to meet. Defense attorney Rand Csehy called it the "nine-and-two system."
Csehy, who represents Junnier, said narcotics officers were required to make nine arrests and obtain two search warrants each month in an effort to show Atlanta residents that the war on drugs was working.
The indictment also raised more questions about the procedures under which officers obtain "no-knock" warrants - special warrants intended to prevent suspects from getting rid of evidence and to protect officers from potentially violent suspects.
Smith and Junnier claimed that police officers have repeatedly lied to judges to obtain the warrants by falsely claiming that homeowners have weapons, surveillance cameras or posed other threats.
Atlanta police officials did not immediately comment Friday, but Chief Richard Pennington told reporters Thursday that officers were not trained to lie and did not have performance quotas.
"I assure you that we will not tolerate any officers violating the law and mistreating our citizens in this city," he told reporters.
Junnier's attorneys stressed on Friday that the case is far from over.
"The lights are on now - and there's no place for the roaches to hide," said Brogdon. "I think they're going to find everything."

Wire Services

Google Search on Fabian Sheats

http://www.google.com/search?q=Fabia...&start=10&sa=N

Posted by: 94c

I am far from being psychic. But I smelled this one coming right from the get go.

It's one thing to get the wrong apartment in a multi-unit dwelling, It's another to get the house completely wrong.

Even a half-assed investigation would have revealed that granny had a gun.

I just find it quite comical that anyone in their right mind would even point a finger at a 92 year old lady and lay blame on her.

I'm really sorry that cops got hurt but it was the cops fault.

I attended Boston Det. Sherman Griffiths funeral who was killed because of actions or inactions that were taken in similar investigations.

Posted by: kwflatbed

The Associated Press

ATLANTA — The attorney for a former police officer charged in a botched drug raid in which an elderly woman was shot to death described a renegade Atlanta narcotics unit that routinely planted drugs and lied to obtain search warrants.
Former officer Arthur Tesler's unit often took illegal shortcuts, ignored department policy and carried bags of drugs in their squad cars, defense attorney William McKenney said Monday in opening statements for Tesler's trial on charges of lying to help cover up misconduct in the raid.
Kathryn Johnston, 92, was killed November 26, 2006, shot 39 times as plainclothes narcotics officers busted into her home using a "no-knock" warrant. Johnston fired one shot from a pistol as police were breaking down her door, but she did not hit any of the officers.
Tesler's trial is likely the only one in the Johnston shooting because former officers Jason R. Smith and Gregg Junnier have already pleaded guilty to state manslaughter and federal civil rights charges. They are expected to testify against Tesler. Video
A prosecutor argued Tesler was also responsible for Johnston's death because he knew his colleagues lied to obtain the warrant. Tesler is charged with violation of oath by a public officer, making false statements and false imprisonment under color of legal process.
"This case is about drugs, deceit, death and disgrace," Fulton County prosecutor Kellie S. Hill told the jury.
Hill began her statement by showing a photograph of a smiling Johnston while the recorded sound of 39 gunshots was played for jurors. Tesler didn't show any emotion while it was played.
On the day Johnston was killed, prosecutors said that Smith, Junnier and Tesler were told by a man they arrested earlier in the day that drugs were being sold out of Johnston's house. But they violated department policy by not using a confidential informant to verify the information, Hill said.
Instead, Smith lied to a magistrate to get the warrant, swearing that he had gotten the information from a department-approved confidential informant. The trio is accused of telling the same lie to the rest of the narcotics unit, which helped them bust through Johnston's door.
The officer's lawyer argued that Tesler was in the backyard of the home when the shooting happened. Tesler, a rookie in the narcotics unit, was pressured by his superiors to cover up their misdeeds, McKenney said.
"Arthur Tesler was manipulated, controlled and exploited by two senior officers," McKenney said.
After the shooting, Smith planted three bags of marijuana in the basement. Prosecutors said the trio met secretly five times to coordinate their story for federal investigators looking at the shooting.
The fatal shooting prompted wide criticism of the police department, a shake-up of the narcotics unit and a review of how officers obtain and use no-knock warrants, which are intended to keep drug suspects from having time to destroy evidence.

Wire Service

Posted by: kwflatbed

Witness ties infamous raid to lie

By Steve Visser
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

ATLANTA — A former Atlanta police officer testified Thursday that narcotics officers routinely lied under oath when seeking search warrants --- a practice that led to police killing a 92-year-old woman.
Former Detective Gregg Junnier told a Fulton County jury that detectives would tell judges that they had verified their informants had bought cocaine from dealers by searching them for drugs before the buy took place.
"I have never seen anyone searched before they go into the house — I've never seen that done — even though officers always swear to it," Junnier said. "It's done that way in 90 percent of the warrants that are written."
But it wasn't just lies to get the warrant to search Kathryn Johnston's home that made Junnier uneasy, he said. He had an inkling something was wrong when he and Officer Jason R. Smith were leading the narcotics team to the front door. He said the northwest Atlanta house differed from the informant's description.
"I said, 'Man, this doesn't look right,' and he said, 'I know,' " Junnier testified. " 'I said what do you want to do.' He said, 'Hit it.'"
A minute later, Johnston was lying on her floor, dying.
Junnier testified at the Superior Court trial of one of his former partners, Arthur Tesler, who was guarding the back of Johnston's Neal Street home on that day, Nov. 21, 2006.
Junnier and Smith pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and face up to 10 and 12 years in prison, respectively, depending on their cooperation. Tesler faces 15 years on charges of lying in an official investigation, violating his oath as an officer and false imprisonment, a charge stemming from illegally surrounding Johnston's house.
Junnier, whose confession unraveled the case, is to testify again today.
"I have already asked for forgiveness from God and everybody I can," he said.
On the day of the raid, Junnier said he knew Smith had lied to a magistrate to get the no-knock warrant — which allows police to break in before identifying themselves — to seize the cocaine they had been told was in the house.
Junnier testified that Smith, who had sworn out the warrant, had lied about more than searching the informant for drugs. Smith swore that a reliable confidential informant had bought cocaine from the Johnston house, Junnier said. In actuality, he said, they relied on Fabian Sheats, a low-level dealer arrested earlier that day.
Junnier said they had confidence in Sheats' descriptions, which detailed the drugs, location and a dealer named "Sam," whom Sheats said worked from the house.
He said the chance to seize a kilo — 2.2 pounds — of cocaine also drove the officers, who normally made arrests for much smaller amounts.
In the raid, police fired 39 shots. Junnier was shot in the face, chest and leg. Two other officers were also wounded. Investigators determined Johnston had fired one round from a revolver; the officers were shot in their own crossfire.
Junnier described entering Johnston's house: "She was still alive. She was gasping for air. I heard ... the order to cuff her."
Later that day, he said, the cover-up began.

Wire Service

Posted by: kwflatbed

Former Atlanta Officer Admits to Covering Up Botched Raid

By DORIE TURNER
Associated Press Writer

ATLANTA --
A former Atlanta police officer on trial for a botched drug raid that led to the death of a 92-year-old woman said Wednesday he went along with a cover-up because he felt threatened by his fellow officers.
Kathryn Johnston was shot 39 times as plainclothes narcotics officers busted into her house using a "no-knock" warrant on Nov. 26, 2006. During nearly eight hours of testimony, Arthur Tester said he was instructed by two other officers after the shooting to memorize a cover-up story that they had witnessed an informant buying drugs at Johnston's home.
Tester also told the jury in Fulton County Superior Court that he didn't know officer Jason R. Smith had lied to a judge to get the warrant and then planted drugs in Johnston's basement to back up the story. In his often tearful testimony, Tester said he eventually decided to cooperate with federal investigators because he "couldn't take it anymore."
"A woman was dead and they were trying to implicate me in their story," Tester said. "I didn't lay a hand on this woman. I wanted nothing to do with it."
Prosecutors say Tester had opportunities to tell the truth but decided to do so only when federal agents told him they knew he was lying.
Tester was in the backyard of Johnston's home during the raid, during which Johnston fired one shot from a pistol as police were breaking down her door. She did not hit any of the officers.
Fulton County prosecutor Kelly S. Hill has said even though Tester never fired a shot, he shared responsibility for Johnston's death because he went along with a lie.
The Rev. Al Sharpen, who was sitting in the courtroom during the morning, called Tester's testimony "chilling" and the shooting "a complete disregard for the criminal justice system."
Tesler is charged with lying in an official investigation, violating his oath as an officer and false imprisonment. The trial is likely to be the only one in the Johnston shooting because former officers Gregg Junnier and Smith have already pleaded guilty to state manslaughter and federal civil rights charges. Junnier testified against Tesler last week.
The fatal shooting led to sharp criticism of the police department, and a shake-up of the narcotics unit, which Tester's attorney, William McKenney, has said routinely planted drugs and lied to obtain search warrants. It also prompted a review of how officers obtain and use no-knock warrants, which are intended to keep drug suspects from having time to destroy evidence.
Closing arguments are expected to begin Thursday morning.

Wire Service

Posted by: kwflatbed

Jury finds Atlanta cop lied about shooting of 92-year-old

The Associated Press

ATLANTA — A jury has convicted an Atlanta police officer of lying to investigators after a botched drug raid in which a 92-year-old woman was killed in her home.
But the jury cleared Arthur Tesler of two other charges.
The jury, which deliberated for parts of four days, returned its verdict on Tuesday.
Tesler was convicted of making false statements and acquitted of violation of oath by a public officer and false imprisonment under color of legal process.
Tesler faces up to five years in prison. He is on leave from the police force.
Two other officers involved in the Nov. 21, 2006 raid on Kathryn Johnston's home have pleaded guilty to state manslaughter and federal civil rights charges.

Wire Service

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