Nbadan
06-04-2007, 04:12 AM
Last week, we were asking how police found themselves in the bedroom of a naked couple in Lancaster, Calif., in 2001, guns drawn.
This led to a discussion of the problem with "no-knock" -- or even "shout-once-and-storm-in" -- search warrants.
On Nov. 21 of last year, Atlanta police planted marijuana on Fabian Sheats, a "suspected street dealer."
They told Sheats they would let him go if he "gave them something." Sheats obligingly lied that he had spotted a kilogram of cocaine nearby, giving them the address of the elderly spinster Miss Kathryn Johnston, who neither used nor dealt drugs, but who did live in fear of break-ins in her crime-infested neighborhood.
Police then lied to a judge, claiming they had actually purchased drugs at the Johnston house.
They acquired one of those once-rare "no-knock" warrants, and violently battered down the reinforced metal door of a private home where there were no drugs.
Miss Johnston fired a warning shot at the unknown people busting down her door.
That bullet lodged in the roof of her porch, injuring no one. Police replied by firing 39 rounds at her, hitting her five times, and wounding each other with another five rounds -- though they lied and said they'd been shot by Miss Johnston.
They then handcuffed the old woman as she bled to death on the floor and searched her house. Finding no drugs, they planted three bags of marijuana.
The next day, the cops picked up one Alex White, an informant, advising him that they needed him to lie, saying that he had purchased cocaine at Johnston's house.
White refused, managed to escape and went to the media with the story.
Last month, two of those officers pleaded guilty to manslaughter -- deals that helped them escape murder charges -- and now face more than 10 years in prison, after authorities demonstrated the officers lied to get their warrant.
Greg Jones of the Atlanta FBI office said at a news conference that the FBI is investigating "additional allegations of corruption that Atlanta police officers may have engaged in similar conduct."
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said he has started to review hundreds of other cases involving officers Jason Smith and Gregg Junnier; convictions may be overturned. Last week, Police Chief Richard Pennington transferred his entire narcotics squad to other duties, contending his department would review its policy on "no-knock" warrants and its use of confidential informants.
That "review" and seven bucks will get you a fancy cup of coffee at Starbucks.
Linky (http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/7812557.html)
Isolated incident? Check out this map from the Cato Institute about botched Paramilitary Police Raids:
An Epidemic of "Isolated Incidents" (http://www.cato.org/raidmap/)
This led to a discussion of the problem with "no-knock" -- or even "shout-once-and-storm-in" -- search warrants.
On Nov. 21 of last year, Atlanta police planted marijuana on Fabian Sheats, a "suspected street dealer."
They told Sheats they would let him go if he "gave them something." Sheats obligingly lied that he had spotted a kilogram of cocaine nearby, giving them the address of the elderly spinster Miss Kathryn Johnston, who neither used nor dealt drugs, but who did live in fear of break-ins in her crime-infested neighborhood.
Police then lied to a judge, claiming they had actually purchased drugs at the Johnston house.
They acquired one of those once-rare "no-knock" warrants, and violently battered down the reinforced metal door of a private home where there were no drugs.
Miss Johnston fired a warning shot at the unknown people busting down her door.
That bullet lodged in the roof of her porch, injuring no one. Police replied by firing 39 rounds at her, hitting her five times, and wounding each other with another five rounds -- though they lied and said they'd been shot by Miss Johnston.
They then handcuffed the old woman as she bled to death on the floor and searched her house. Finding no drugs, they planted three bags of marijuana.
The next day, the cops picked up one Alex White, an informant, advising him that they needed him to lie, saying that he had purchased cocaine at Johnston's house.
White refused, managed to escape and went to the media with the story.
Last month, two of those officers pleaded guilty to manslaughter -- deals that helped them escape murder charges -- and now face more than 10 years in prison, after authorities demonstrated the officers lied to get their warrant.
Greg Jones of the Atlanta FBI office said at a news conference that the FBI is investigating "additional allegations of corruption that Atlanta police officers may have engaged in similar conduct."
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said he has started to review hundreds of other cases involving officers Jason Smith and Gregg Junnier; convictions may be overturned. Last week, Police Chief Richard Pennington transferred his entire narcotics squad to other duties, contending his department would review its policy on "no-knock" warrants and its use of confidential informants.
That "review" and seven bucks will get you a fancy cup of coffee at Starbucks.
Linky (http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/7812557.html)
Isolated incident? Check out this map from the Cato Institute about botched Paramilitary Police Raids:
An Epidemic of "Isolated Incidents" (http://www.cato.org/raidmap/)