Drug War Issues
Politics & Advocacy
The city of Atlanta will pay $4.9 million to the estate of Kathryn Johnston, the 92-year-old African American woman killed by Atlanta narcotics officers in a drug raid nearly four years ago. Mayor Kasim Reed announced the settlement Monday morning. The city council approved it that same afternoon.
never forget
No drugs were found. The officers involved attempted to cover their tracks by planting marijuana they had seized in a separate raid. They also tried to get an informer to say that he had provided them with the information in the warrant when he hadn't. The narcs' cover-up unraveled when the informant went to the FBI.
After an investigation by the FBI, five officers pleaded guilty for their roles in the shooting and cover-up. The three officers directly involved in the botched raid are serving sentences of five, six and ten years. Another six were reprimanded for not following departmental policy.
Reed said the settlement was an important step for the city and the police department, which came under intense, withering criticism in the raid's aftermath. "As a result of the incident, several police officers were indicted in federal and state court on charges and were later convicted and sentenced for their actions," said Reed, adding that the narcotics unit has been totally reorganized.
There is more the department needs to do, said Christina Beamud, executive director of the Atlanta Citizens Review Board. "This goes a long way to encourage the community to begin to heal and to address whatever issues they have with the police department," she told WABE FM Monday afternoon. But, she added, reforms in the department are still needed. One group of rogue officers may be gone, she said, "But where you have a group of officers continuing to do the same kind of improper procedures, then you have to look at your systems." She said the department should scrap quotas for drug arrests and end the policy of allowing officers to moonlight when not on duty.
Johnston's heirs will receive $2.9 million this year and $2 million in 2012 under the terms of the settlement.
Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.
Comments
Don't forget Kathryn, folks.
Kathryn died for no good reason and the rest of us must somehow muddle through our lives in the sad knowledge that injustice is merely a way of life. I grow 420 and am proud of it, as I grow for the California medical dispensaries. We are under assault in Upland and in other burgs. WTF is going on? Both Bush and Obama were users!
good start
but why dosent this money come out of the murders pocket instead of us tax payers
In reply to good start by old vet (not verified)
Because We the People allow
Because We the People allow the government to pursue a war on a plant. We allow they Government to put the interests of keeping Hemp off the market, and out of the mainstream when it could replace well over half of the compounds being made from petrochemicals right now!
As long as the police are called upon to enforce victimless legislation for the good of Big Business, expect more of the same! Don't like it? Me neither!
National Lawsuit Needed
Millions of otherwise law-abiding citizens are falsely arrested on the basis of this claim in US law: "Marijuana is classified as a Schedule I substance, based on its high potential for abuse, no accepted medical use, and no accepted safety for use in medically supervised treatment".
Yet dozens of references were used by the US Department of Health and Human Services in it's April 21, 1999 application for 2003 US Patent No. 6630507, entitled, "Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants".
Got reparations?
A direct link to contact DHHS is at the top of http://supersoberme.com
See also US Patent No. 6630507:
http://tinyurl.com/classactionlawsuit
At least
At least these poor people did get a little justice, and I do agree that the money they get should come out of the murderers pocket instead of tax money. But, unfortunately they will just hire more murders to replace the old...goes on and on...a nationally corrupt police force...these guys should have all gotten the death penalty...If there is a hell they will be there...I'm sick of reading stories like this everyday. Everytime the police do stupid shi* like this people should be outraged...regaurdless of race and nationality. We are all Americans...unfortunately that's no longer a good thing. our forefathers must be crying...I know I am, nothing...not all the money in the world can bring this poor woman..who was obviously very brave, (I wish her shot could have hit one of those bast*rds!, back. My heart goes out to her family...it could have been my mother...or yours...
illegal search and seizure till death do we Part
How has the constitution been so misinterpreted and in some cases completely ignored? Warrants are being issued on made up accusations from crooked informants and crooked cops. Why do we allow them to use informants anyway these are criminals themselves and their crimes are overlooked for sometimes bogus info. SWAT raids have increased from 8,000 nationwide in 1987 to over 50,000 last year. We have just decided to use our SWAT team on what should be regular patrol officers or detectives should be doing. People face it we have made police and the justice system BIG business they are above the Law they have an inner code. We the people have no clue just how crooked our police system has become they deny you constitutional rights at will. They piss on what I call my country land of the free constitution. It just recently happened to me 1/4 mile from home I came into our housing community very nice neighborhood not rich just middle class and under but not much crime. Broad daylight driving 25mph a cop turned around in the middle of the street where children are playing he speeds to at least four times the speed limit and pulls me over said I weaved.He was right Every one weaves at that part of the road there is a big pothole so everyone goes around it. But my problem was I hadn't't even got to that part of the road before he swerved around and chased me down so there was no way he could have seen me do this as it had not yet happened. I suggested this to him when I asked him why he pulled me and his attitude got hostile and then another cop came up behind him this is somewhat of a private community we allow the police to patrol the roads but it is a large county and if two cops were with me then the rest of the county had one officer on duty. Mind you I haven't done anything. So after they checked my license and stuff he asked me to get out of the vehicle and do a sobriety test well to bad for him I am disabled I can barely stand with a cane. I don't drink anyway so he said well do you got anything in your vehicle that we should know about. I was like no sir there isn't. one of the cops said well you don't mind if we search it do you? I was getting perturbed now I hadn't done a thing and I felt very intimidated and scared. I told them that no they couldn't search my car. he said well just get a warrant I said go for it. then the other cop said I think we have a 420 here. then as if the other cop cued in he said well i thought I smelled pot in the vehicle and this is like 10-15 minutes after the stop originated so he said that was probable cause they searched my car anyway they didn't find anything by then there were like 20 of my neighbors out there wanting to know why they were massing with me. then they let me go with a warning.....In the meantime there was a bank robbery about 8 miles from my house and they were all there man got away with the robbery. Stop the uneccesary Intrusions on tax payers and get more evidence backed up by more than one source. You cops don't have to kill people cause they do drugs man their life is bad enuff why you feel like you have to just kill over some drugs. I'm just very pissed in the police and the justice system and all the corruption more people in jail than china and they have a billion people our sentences are outrageous for nonviolent crimes. I fought for this country and the politicians and the the big business police dept. have taken over.
Signed Terry Baker
Pissed off American
First let me say I'm so sorry this happened.
We as Americans should hang our heads low. Again i am so sorry we have let this go on for this long. To the Cops who did this. Judgement Day will come soon for you. Atlanta Pays $4.9 million( should be more),the rest Of America take NOTICE its just starting. So get ahold of your POLICE DEPARTMENTS ! Cause We are fighting mad, and fighting back. AtA
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