The Atlanta PD might look into revamping their warrant-serving procedures:
A 92-year-old woman was killed after she shot three Atlanta narcotics officers Tuesday night when they broke down the front door of her home trying to serve a search warrant, police said.One officer was hit in the arm, one was struck in the shoulder, and one was shot in the thigh. All were rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital, where they were in stable condition late Tuesday night. Police did not release their identities.
Police investigate the scene on Neal Street in northwest Atlanta where a 92-year-old woman was killed in an exchange of gunfire with police. Three officers were shot serving a warrant at her house.
Atlanta assistant police Chief Alan Dreher, in a news conference outside the hospital emergency room, declined to confirm the identity of the woman, but he said the warrant was served at the correct address. He said he did not know what name was on the warrant. He said the woman was the only one in the home at the time.
Sarah C. Dozier identified the dead woman as her aunt, Kathryn Johnston. Dozier said she had been looking forward to going to her aunt's house for Thanksgiving dinner as she does every year.
What a mess. You folks in Georgia let me know how this is playing there.
(Via FR.)
(AJC login/pswd=nojuan@spamnot.net/nojuan.)
UPDATE:
It turns out it was a no-knock warrant after all. Not that a knock-and-announce, immediately followed by breaking the door down would have made much difference to an extremely elderly person. If someone yelled "police" outside my door, I sure wouldn't be able to hear them. If police are not wearing uniforms when they charge in, it looks a heck of a lot like a home invasion. I'd be worried about my dogs getting hurt, more than anything else.
Much more here.
Posted by floridacracker at November 22, 2006 01:21 AMSome lawyer up here fixin' to make a bundle off this one...
Posted by: Carl in Atlanta at November 22, 2006 05:11 AMI am forced...forced I say, to go into the very best of neighborhoods...and the worst. Lately, I have noticed a lot of trickery going on with the drug trade, i.e. using Grandma's house as a front, just wierd stuff.
I just don't trust the way things are played in the papers. There might be more to this than one thinks. Or the stupid Adlanna POleece might have killed a sweet little ol lady for all the wrong reasons.
Posted by: csason at November 22, 2006 05:43 AMRadley Balko's ( http://www.theagitator.com/archives/cat_cory_maye.php ) all over a case where a guy's actually on death row for shooting a police officer during a no-knocj raid. Whose confidential informant leading to the raid sounded left this on an answering machine when the defense tried to get ahold of him:
"Yeah, this is Mr. Randy Gentry. Hey, I got to thinkin' about my friend. I got yo' message this morning, Bob. Y'all -- y'all threaten me all you want to and everything. I don't like fuckin' niggers from jump street but call me or whatever and I'll -- but the day I burn five cents on gas to help that fuckin' cocksucker Cory Maye get out of jail is going to be a hell of a damn day. But -- uh -- if you want ot talk to me like a fuckin' white man, you talk. But don't threaten me on bullshit. Get your NAACP motherfuckers -- I don't give a fuck -- niggers, bro, fuck niggers! But I'll tell you what. That's a good friend of mine they killed, buddy. I'll -- I'll tell you anything. I'll -- I'll be honest with you as fuckin' gum (?) street. But I don't like no motherfucker talkin' shit to me or about my friends. Alright, well look here. Call me today and look here. Y'all buy my fuckin' gas, the NAACP buy my fuckin' gas I'll come talk to y'all or whatever. But look here. I'm -- I'm a poor-ass motherfucker too, bro. Call me. You got my fuckin' number. Don't piss me fuckin' off."
Posted by: tree hugging sister at November 22, 2006 07:50 AM
sounds like he has a plan...called 'Who's next ?'
Posted by: csason at November 22, 2006 08:42 AMAtlanta and Dekalb PD and Sherrif's departments are noted for being quick to shoot first and determine what the dead were doing afterwards.
I used to sleep with my 9 mm and 44 mag because of the crack heads accross Peachtree Industrial Blvd had occupied an entire appartment complex and they were wild. Crime on both sides of the line made the decision for me to bug the hell out in '96.
I gotta agree with Carl, someone's about to drop a ton of cash one way or the other here.
According to what I was reading earlier, they've been giving two versions of the story: in one she opened fire 'as they approached the house', in the other she opened fire after they broke in the door and stormed in.
When they can't keep their story straight, makes you wonder exactly what the hell they were doing.
Posted by: Firehand at November 22, 2006 07:23 PMThe Blogosphere is conducting plaintiff's discovery/investigation for free! I just noticed the following email to Instapundit from one of his readers:
"Meanwhile, reader John McGinnis emails:
Go to www.zillow.com. Enter 933 Neal St. Atlanta, Ga in the address bar. In the house pop up click the “bird’s eye view” link. You should get a two pane display. One overview satellite shot and a tighter shot of just that house. If you are like me the first that that should pop out is that there is a wheel chair ramp right up to the front of the home. I would have hoped that that substructure would have given the cops some pause if they had done some pre-site surveillance."
That would the link below. Amazing. Impossible to miss the huge wheelchair ramp.
http://www.zillow.com/aerial/DualMapPage.htm?zpid=35833831