Monday, November 26, 2007

Some followup on the Kathryn Johnston case in Atlanta

Found this at High Road:
On April 26, 2007 one of the police officers--Gregg Junnier--pleaded guilty in state court to manslaughter, violation of oath, criminal solicitation and making false statements. A second police officer--Jason Smith--also pleaded guilty

On November 27, 2006, newspapers reported that the FBI and Georgia state authorities were investigating the case. Atlanta's police chief Richard Pennington placed eight narcotics officers involved in the "no-knock" raid on paid leave. Chief Pennington professed to be puzzled by conflicting versions of the incident, promised to cooperate with the investigators, and "said his department was reviewing its use of 'no-knock' raids after the shootout. The warrants are common in narcotics cases when officers fear suspects may try to dispose of drugs or evidence in the time it takes authorities to gain access to the home.

Yesterday, November 21, 2007, Kathryn Johnston's family filed civil suit against the City of Atlanta, the Atlanta Police Department, the police officers involved, and their supervisors. "The suit charges the corrupt practices of the Police Department led to violations of the U.S. Constitution and state law."

Two articles are here and here.

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