Woman, 92, dies in shootout with police

[MaNuMaNiAc]

http://us.cnn.com/2006/US/11/22/woman.shot.ap/index.html


ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- 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. (Watch niece's fury at police shooting (javascript:cnnVideo('play','/video/us/2006/11/22/phillips.ga.92.year.old.suspect.killed.wsb','2006/11/29');) http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/1.5/main/icon_video.gif (javascript:cnnVideo('play','javascript:cnnVideo(' play','/video/us/2006/11/22/phillips.ga.92.year.old.suspect.killed.wsb','2006/11/29');','2006/11/22');))

"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.

The 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.


WTF?? the old broad had a gun and shot three officers and because they shot back now its police brutality?? GIVE ME A BREAK! I'll wait for more information to come out, but I'm willing to bet that because this woman was black and 92, they're going to distort the fuck out of the story to make it into a fucking crusade.

If the woman shot at them after they announced themselves, then by all means, shoot back! I mean, if there ever was a good reason for use of deadly force, getting shot at would probably be it, wouldn't you say?

[Mixability]

but I'm willing to bet that because this woman was black and 92, they're going to distort the fuck out of the story to make it into a fucking crusade.

oh no, not again.

[MaNuMaNiAc]

oh no, not again.
:lol yeah I was thinking the same thing

[Taco]

http://us.cnn.com/2006/US/11/22/woman.shot.ap/index.html


WTF?? the old broad had a gun and shot three officers

http://www.moviewavs.com/0085934086/WAVS/Movies/Dont_Be_A_Menace_To_South_Central_While_Drinking_Y our_Juice_In_The_Hood/takethat.wav

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT276wf7XP8

[Mixability]

so the cops "said" they announced themselves before knocking the door down. either way, they had the wrong house, right? the cops are lucky that old lady had cataracts or she would've easily shot em all in the face. :lol

[MaNuMaNiAc]

so the cops "said" they announced themselves before knocking the door down. either way, they had the wrong house, right? the cops are lucky that old lady had cataracts or she would've easily shot em all in the face. :lolThey had a legal warrant. No need for them to not announce themselves. Still, I'll wait for more info, but it sounds like the officers were in the right

[ObiwanGinobili]

it's perfectly legal to own a gun to defend your home.

are you saying that she deserved to get shot because she took advantagwe of her right as an american citizen? itsn;t that like "oh here are your rights, but don;t use any 'casue then we get to kill you"

also alot of times when police "announce" themselves on late night or undercover drug warrents they do nto say "police" they say "open up! - we are coming in!".

putting aside the dumbass war on drugs - they had the wrong home!! they were obviously acting on some dubious information.
If you were a 92 yr old woman living all alone in a questionalbe neighborhood and you heard shouting (who even knows if your hearing is good or not, you amy not ewven be able to tell what they are saying) at your doorand then some one tryingto break it down and you owned a gun.... are you tellign me you would just sit there quietly and wait to see what broke thru? when in your mind it is most likely a group of robbers/rapists/murders?

[ObiwanGinobili]

police still need to announce themselves and knock when they have a warrent - if there is no answer or the responding occupant refuses to open, then they can say they are coming in by use of the warrent, and break in the door.

[Bob Lanier]

Hardcore. :tu

[Mixability]

police still need to announce themselves and knock when they have a warrent - if there is no answer or the responding occupant refuses to open, then they can say they are coming in by use of the warrent, and break in the door.

I bet they went through each of the standard procedures.....
:rolleyes

[Dro210]

http://us.cnn.com/2006/US/11/22/woman.shot.ap/index.html


WTF?? the old broad had a gun and shot three officers and because they shot back now its police brutality?? GIVE ME A BREAK! I'll wait for more information to come out, but I'm willing to bet that because this woman was black and 92, they're going to distort the fuck out of the story to make it into a fucking crusade.

If the woman shot at them after they announced themselves, then by all means, shoot back! I mean, if there ever was a good reason for use of deadly force, getting shot at would probably be it, wouldn't you say?


Fuck the police, kick my door down and I'll shoot too, you got no right in my house you low-life piece of shit...

[MaNuMaNiAc]

Well, yeah, if they did not announce that they were the police, I'd say they fucked up. What I'm saying is putting aside the fact that they fucked up by going into the wrong house, which is all about incompetence, if they did announce themselves and she shot at them nonetheless (she could have been senile, I don't know) I think its understandable they'd shoot back.

I'm not saying the old lady deserved to get shot, but you can't accuse the officers of police brutality because they shot back when they were being shot at. Incompetence for having gone into the wrong house, perhaps, but brutality, I don't think so. Ofcourse this is assuming they identified themselves properly as police officers.

[TheQuattro]

Was she heckling them?

[MaNuMaNiAc]

are you tellign me you would just sit there quietly and wait to see what broke thru? when in your mind it is most likely a group of robbers/rapists/murders?Yes, because robbers/rapists/murders always announce themselves when they're about to break in, right? just in case you don't have a gun handy, they want to give you time to get ready

[JoeChalupa]

How a warrant can be screwed is beyond me. I'm no legal expert but I'm sure that more one set of eyes needs to see and sign off on that warrant.

[ObiwanGinobili]

see joe I'm thinking they may have gotten a "tip" from an "informant".. ya know just give the ops somethign so they will get off your back kinda situation.

also typos are not unheard of.

I'll have to find the info , but there is a guy in prison in alabama right now who shot a cop breaking into his home. The cops were "serving a drug warrent" at 3am in all black civilian clothing, they did not announce who thye were. this guys was sleeping next to his toddler son, heard people breaking into his home, pulled a gun from his nightstand and shot. come to find out it was cops, adn they had the wrong address.
to bad for this guy he was black, the cops werer white and his gun was unregistered. so off to jail he went.

[ObiwanGinobili]

Yes, because robbers/rapists/murders always announce themselves when they're about to break in, right? just in case you don't have a gun handy, they want to give you time to get ready

as I said - we don;t know if the cops actually announced themselves - conviently the otherside of the story is now deceased. and we don't know how well she could hear either.

[kingsfan]

The big fact was that they were in plain clothes and there had been several instances in that area where burglars had said they were plain clothes cops and busted in. I wouldn't have believed them either.
She was protecting herself, unfortunately the laws in Ga. are fucked up when it comes to this kind of situation.

[King]

see joe I'm thinking they may have gotten a "tip" from an "informant".. ya know just give the ops somethign so they will get off your back kinda situation


Your ability to draw that conclusive of an opinion from the story you know is astounding.

The fact is, she shot at police. What lead up to that is irrelevant. I'd guess that when bullets were whizzing past their heads, they probably weren't thinking 'I wonder if this is the right house.' At that point, it didn't matter.

[Clandestino]

they had the RIGHT house.


The officers had gone to the old woman's house with a search warrant after buying drugs there from a man known only as Sam, police said. (Watch what police and family say about the shooting -- 2:53 )

Police issued a "John Doe" warrant on Wednesday for the arrest of Sam, believed to be in his early to mid 30s, who allegedly sold the drugs to the undercover agent.

Dreher would not say how the dealer knew Johnston.

Investigators also said they found drugs in the home after Johnston was killed.

Officer Joe Cobb, a police spokesman, said the type of drug involved would not be disclosed until it was verified by the crime lab.

District Attorney Paul Howard said his office is looking into the shooting but that a preliminary review indicated the officers had a right to search the home.

[TDMVPDPOY]

Thug Life

[Chris Childs]

She went out gangsta!

[Marklar MM]

Definitely sux for her, but it would be rather hilarious in my opinion if they come to find out she was the mastermind behind the operation.