11 AM their time was two and a half hours ago. Where do you think Atlanta is?
We really don’t know enough to condemn either the cops or granny in this case but the way i see it if that lady had enough time to get off three shots then that tells me the cops waited as long as humanly possible to take her down. A regretable outcome no matter what the circumstances actually happened to be but i just don’t see anyone at all getting off three shots unless the cops where actively holding back and putting their own lives at risk to spare hers as long as they could.
Breaking news:
http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=88020
They *were * at the right house: “Three Atlanta narcotics officers who killed a 92-year-old woman after she shot them were serving a warrant at the correct address, assistant police chief Alan James Dreher said at a news conference Wednesday.”
They apparently did find drugs: “Chief Dreher said officers served a search warrant after the shooting and seized some suspected narcotics, which are being analyzed at a laboratory.”
Sometimes it’s better to wait for some facts. But it’s not as much fun as jumping to conclusions, eh?
(my bolding); Yes, yes it is.
One more “Chief Dreher said the officers had performed a successful undercover narcotics purchase from a man who lives at Kathryn Johnston’s house on Neal Street in Atlanta. The man who sold the drugs has not yet been identified or arrested.”
It’s a drug house. They did a proper raid with a proper warrent. Too bad the scum that used that home as a drug house left some grandmother to be their guard. It’s the drug dealers who do crap like use elderly folks homes for their drug deals who are the bad guys, not the cops.
Here’s a conclusion I feel pretty secure in jumping to:
Before you ask a judge to sign your warrant, it might be a good idea to, you know, investigate the suspect or location. Just to make sure that the person you thought was selling bricks of hash to preschoolers isn’t actually a little old lady who collects knitting needles and handguns.
I think most police departments actually have people whose job is to investigate things. Detectives, or something, I think they’re called.
::BREAKING NEWS:: APD cracks NW Atlanta Lipitor ring – One killed in raid :: BREAKING NEWS::
gonna sleep better tonight.
FIVE shots. “One officer suffered three gunshot wounds – one in his chest which was protected by a bulletproof vest, once in the side of the face, and once in the leg. The second officer received one gunshot wound to his left leg. The third officer received one gunshot wound to his left arm.”
Really Not All That Bright (most apt username yet) “Chief Dreher said the officers had performed a successful undercover narcotics purchase from a man who lives at Kathryn Johnston’s house on Neal Street in Atlanta. The man who sold the drugs has not yet been identified or arrested.”
What more do you want?
And, the results of that Press conference just hit the Internet.
The existence of drugs in her apartment doesn’t magically make the whole thing right. Possession of drugs does not warrant a death sentence, nor is it worth risking the lives of police officers. Prosecuting drug laws with this level of zeal has not staunched the flow of drugs one bit – it’s just getting people hurt and killed, innocent and guilty alike. It’s bad policy, and I feel for the police officers whose asses are the line having to try to carry it out.
But it does make this post incorrect "Originally Posted by lee
*Count me as deeply shocked they did not find any drugs at her house, regardless of whether drugs were there before the raid or not. * "
We can argue the War on Drugs is silly, sure. But as long as it is the law of the Land, supported by the majority of voters, then the Police have to enforce it. The fact that some drug dealers have made the home of a 92 year old granny the places where they sell their drugs out of- makes them the bad guys, not the police. Either Granny was a knowing accomplice or they were abusing the elderly.
You can have a war on drugs (right or wrong) and still not have a scorched earth strategy. The policy employed in this instance was faulty. This instance is indicative of it’s faultiness. Does anyone cherish their right to feel secure in their home? Can’t you see how this policy risks that security?
nitpick – stand alone house, not apartment. I think this distinction is important. I just moved from a 4th floor apartment in a semi rojugh part of the city to a stand alone house in a rougher part. There’s defintiely a greater sense of security within the apartment than within the stand alone house.
Then what will we do with the surplus of money, guns, ammo, Kevlar and ad campaigns? Not to forget all the insurance money for GSA’s and stuff like that there.
oh wait.
The war against Gay Marriage.
Police officer: ( On megaphone) Robert and Larry , this is the Police. We have a search warrant!
**Larry: **(Inside, peeking through curtains) Oh shit! Bob, hide the couch and bring out the ratty futon! :::randomly throwing clutter everywhere as he turns off the showtunes and blares out the ACDC.:::::
Bob: (trying to flush a brightly colored shirt down the toilet.) It’s not working, man! We are so dead! What are we going to do!!!
Police Officer: Time’s Up.
:::Sound of glass breaking and something landing on the carpet::::
Bob (screaming as he runs out of the bathroom:) Not on the new carpet!!! I give up! Send me to the Betty Ford Heterosexual Center!!! Anything, but not the new carpet! :::Bob dissolves into a pile of tears::::
Larry: We’re coming out, Officers! We’ll go back into the closet quietly.
Every senior I’ve ever met has a cornucopia of narcotics handy at any time. Not only that, but the ones I’m most closely associated with don’t keep them in the prescription bottles. They move them to easier opening bottles, or trays divided into days/times.
Personally, I’m still not jumping to conclusions about the accuracy of the warrant, and I’ll not debate the War on Drugs here.
What would you suggest in its place? Please explain in detail.
No I don’t. It is a crime. Police are allowed to enter residences with valid warrants to enforce the law. If you do away with all drug laws (be careful of what is there in it’s place) then the police will still have this power, although with fewer laws. Are you saying that anything goes as long as it’s in your house? I feel perfectly secure from the government in my own home.
Seems to have been verified now.
See above.
Well, considering that Granny had time to get her gun and fire at least three shots before the police returned fire, I don’t think this is accurate either.
Then I will type some other words - anti-police knee jerker whose every assumption has been disproven.
So, if you were going to break into a house, you would
[ul][li]Choose a known drug house[]Dress up like a SWAT team, with a bulletproof vest []Knock on the door first and shout “POLICE!” at the top of your lungs.[/ul]Got it. [/li]
I’m guessing you are not exactly a master criminal, are you?
Shooting at cops who are legally executing a proper search warrant does make you a criminal.
I’m not following you, furt - how were the police supposed to know who was in the house if no one responded to their knocks? There was apparently a drug buy that happened earlier that day at that address - how were the police supposed to know that guy was no longer there?
I don’t think it safe to assume that the home owner is always and only the only person in a drug house.
I don’t see how this policy is necessarily connected to the drug war - what difference would it make if the police thought Grandma was hiding something other than what they apparently found?
Drug policy might be good or bad - that has little to do with the policy of saying to police “if someone shoots at you while executing a warrant, return fire” unless you want to add “unless it is a drug dealer on the other side of the gun”.
Regards,
Shodan
Well, that they found some suspected narcotics makes this more like business as usual, as ugly as that is.
I am trying to understand what outcome worse than a shootout in a residential neighborhood at night the police were hoping to prevent. I can’t believe that this was handled well. It seems wrong from one end to the other.
Maybe 99 out of 100 times when police follow this exact procedure things go smoothly and it doesn’t make the news.