Atlanta Police Shoot and Kill 92 Year Old Woman
A police official said narcotics officers were justified in returning fire on the old woman as they tried to serve a warrant at her house.
Neighbors and relatives said it was a case of mistaken identity, but Atlanta police said they thought there was no mistake concerning the address of the house. The 92 year old woman, identified as Kathryn Johnston, was the only resident in the house at the time and had lived there for about 17 years.
"I'm mad as hell! The neighbors know where the drugs are — ask the neighbors!" Johnston's niece, Sarah Dozier, shouted to reporters. "I'm sure she panicked when they kicked that door down, there were no drugs in the house. There was no reason they had to go in there and shoot her down like a dog."
Assistant Chief Alan Dreher said the officers had a legal warrant and "knocked and announced" before they forced open the door. He said they were justified in shooting.
CBS News
Sadly this does not surprise me at all.
I've had a similar experience. Twice.
My first apartment was raided when police failed to update their information and came looking for the previous tenant who had moved out 8 or 9 months prior to my renting the apartment.
The 2nd instance happened when police burst in at around 5am one morning, forced me to stand naked at gunpoint, threatened to shoot my husband if he moved, and literally terrified my children who were aged 5 and 3 at the time. They had the wrong address.
Luckily in neither instance was anyone physically injured but there was never one word of apology. In fact, they acted angry at us as though, well, SURELY we must be guilty of SOMETHING.
It is a very common occurrence in the US, rarely publicized and the public fear of crime drowns out any attempts to address this issue.
Oh, the stories I can tell, I just usually have not, assuming no one would believe me anyway. In the last couple of years I've decided to speak anyway. It's been an interesting life.
Posted by Anonymous | 7:47 pm, November 22, 2006
lance, I was waiting for a typical reactionary, non-thinging opinion from the Right and you have not disappointed me.
Drug addiction is a health problem. Addiction is a proven medical condition and is NOT a lack of morals or whatever you rightwingers believe in your nonsensical mythology.
The policy of criminalizing this disease in an attempt to curtail it IS A FUC#@NG UNMITIGATED FAILURE!!
I did a post on the shameful level of incarceration that the Americans have and that should be proof enought that this nonsensical 'war' does not work.
Across Canada, a number of provinces have conducted a 'denormalization' policy towards nicotine addiction and results are evident.
If some of the money that is going on incarcerating individuals with the disease of addiction was turned towards a rational process to deal with this as a health concern, we would be seeing results.
Your typical right wing attitude sucks, lacks anything that resembles intelligence and is beyond idiotic.
Posted by leftdog | 8:14 pm, November 22, 2006
mama I am glad that you were not a victim of police idiocy during your experience. I can't imagine the terror of someone busting into your home in such a manner.
Posted by leftdog | 8:17 pm, November 22, 2006
No injuries, just a lifelong fear of police that I'm only now starting to get over, somewhat.
The ironic twist is my son-in-law just became a policeman. He's a good sort and will be a better one I think for knowing of what we have experienced, fer sure he wouldn't want to risk the wrath of either me or my daughter.
Posted by Anonymous | 8:46 pm, November 22, 2006
I DO have a lot of sympathy for what the police have to deal with. They deal with all of the worst stuff in our society, I couldn'd do what they do. So I know that stress levels are terrible - but ... we give them so much power, we have every right to demand from them that they work as smart as possible - better training, higher qualifications.
Cops are victims of the drug epidemic because they have to deal with the sickest of the sickest.
I get so mad at right wingers who refuse to deal with this in a logical practical way, not their moral bullshit.
Posted by leftdog | 9:41 pm, November 22, 2006
Aye, I have sympathy too but I'm also pragmatic enough to acknowledge that our system, at least as it functions now, does not attract a lot of "decent" people into it's ranks.
Putting on a uniform does not magically transform a bully, the incurably rigid, or just plain criminally-minded themselves into models of virtue and justice.
Quite often in the US the "detainees" are indistinguishable in their behaviour from the "detainers".
I'm positive I'm as angry as you are at the narrow, rigid, simplistic, and just plain old-fashioned stupid, attitudes of (most)our right-wing here. It feels like they've stolen my country.
Posted by Anonymous | 3:16 am, November 23, 2006