92-Year-Old Woman Dies in Shootout With Police

[Big Tuna]

The Poll question is " Were Police justified?"





Just happened to see this and was curious of your thoughts.



ATLANTA (Nov. 22) - The niece of a 92-year-old woman shot to death by police said her aunt likely had reason to shoot three narcotics investigators as they stormed her house.

Police insisted the officers did everything right before entering the home Tuesday evening, despite suggestions from the woman's neighbors and relatives that it was a case of mistaken identity.

The woman, Kathryn Johnston, was the only resident in the house at the time and had lived there for about 17 years, Assistant Chief Alan Dreher said. The officers had a legal warrant, "knocked and announced" before they forced open the door and were justified in shooting once fired upon, he said.






Story here

 

[thepushercg]

tough call to make.
questions would have to be answered before i could say yes or no.

 

[Big Tuna]

I agree

 

[captain]

The real question is what does the warrant say? What information did the police have to make the determination that the house had illegal drugs?

 

[warwgn]

they are justified in shooting since they were fired upon first.

were they justified in going into the house?? dont know about that

was what happened right? dont know

 

[AES]

the details would be nice but i think establishing the fact that they did have a warrant for that residence, They "knocked and announced", and then"kicked the door",and were fired upon by an occupant of the house. SORRY LIBERALS, im not gonna be killed by ANYONE including a 92 year old woman. If you shoot at the police you have just bought the ticket, so prepare to ride the ride. How is it that the police are wrong for protecting themselves while serving a warrant on a house? Who cares what the warrant was for. I dont care if it was for a seatbelt ticket or a first degree murder. THEY have a warrant, SIGNED by a judge. Lets try and think beyond the fact that she was 92. You know whenever i kick down a door on a warrant I ALWAYS stop and check the age of the person trying to kill me before i return fire........

 

[Spike]

If the facts presented are accurate then the police were justified in their behavior. Yes it sucks. Just because you are getting older does not mean you should be allowed to shoot at anyone let alone the police.

My first thought would be "What was she thinking?"

 

[onerabidshark]

If someone is shooting at me I would return fire too and not just shooting actually shot!! if the warrent is correct then everything is Legal the cops were doing their Job

 

[thrasherfox]

Tough call..

I think an investigation should be done by a neutral entity. (I cringe at using the term “internal affairsâ€￾)

If it turns out that misinformation was given to law enforcement and there never was just cause to enter the house.

Then every police office, and anyone else involved, including the judge who singed the warrant should be brought up on murder charges.

Just like was mentioned, if you fire on police then you need to be ready for the consequences, in turn if you kill a totally innocent person due to misinformation, then you need to be prepared for the consequences.

No get out of jail free card just because you wear a uniform.

And keep in mind, I am on law enforcement side and a lot of my friends are leo's

 

[Charlesbusa]

You are leaving out a very important part;

As the plainclothes Atlanta police officers approached the house about 7 p.m., a woman inside started shooting, striking each of them, said Officer Joe Cobb, a police spokesman.

One was hit in the arm, another in a thigh and the third in a shoulder. The officers were taken to a hospital for treatment, and all three were conscious and alert, police said.[/Quote]

You shoot at a cop, much less actually hit 3 of them, of course they're going to fire back!!!

 

[thrasherfox]

I think the important part is:

As the plainclothes Atlanta police officers approached the house about 7 p.m., a woman inside started shooting, striking each of them, said Officer Joe Cobb, a police spokesman.

One was hit in the arm, another in a thigh and the third in a shoulder. The officers were taken to a hospital for treatment, and all three were conscious and alert, police said.[/Quote]


They were plain clothes. how would a 92 year old woman who probably has poor eyesight really know for sure it was law enforcement and not a home invasion robery?

If I am woken up out of a sound sleep and seeing people coming through my door in plain clothes. I dont care what they are yelling, they better slow their roll and respectfully provide me with some explanation and paper work,

I am a law abiding citizen, the last think on my mind is someone making a mistake, the first thing on my mind is I am being robbed and my family's well being.

I have a wife and children to protect and I will start cleaning the gene pool real quick.

 

[Charlesbusa]

(thrasherfox @ Nov. 22 2006,12:40) I think the important part is:

As the plainclothes Atlanta police officers approached the house about 7 p.m., a woman inside started shooting, striking each of them, said Officer Joe Cobb, a police spokesman.

One was hit in the arm, another in a thigh and the third in a shoulder. The officers were taken to a hospital for treatment, and all three were conscious and alert, police said.

They were plain clothes. how would a 92 year old woman who probably has poor eyesight really know for sure it was law enforcement and not a home invasion robery?

If I am woken up out of a sound sleep and seeing people coming through my door in plain clothes. I dont care what they are yelling, they better slow their roll and respectfully provide me with some explanation and paper work,

I am a law abiding citizen, the last think on my mind is someone making a mistake, the first thing on my mind is I am being robbed and my family's well being.

I have a wife and children to protect and I will start cleaning the gene pool real quick.[/Quote]
Don't plainscolthes cops wear sherriff or whatever vests when entering under a warrant??

If they were completely unmarked, what were they thinking??

 

[vincent]

(thrasherfox @ Nov. 22 2006,14:40) I think the important part is:

As the plainclothes Atlanta police officers approached the house about 7 p.m., a woman inside started shooting, striking each of them, said Officer Joe Cobb, a police spokesman.

One was hit in the arm, another in a thigh and the third in a shoulder. The officers were taken to a hospital for treatment, and all three were conscious and alert, police said.

They were plain clothes. how would a 92 year old woman who probably has poor eyesight really know for sure it was law enforcement and not a home invasion robery?

If I am woken up out of a sound sleep and seeing people coming through my door in plain clothes. I dont care what they are yelling, they better slow their roll and respectfully provide me with some explanation and paper work,

I am a law abiding citizen, the last think on my mind is someone making a mistake, the first thing on my mind is I am being robbed and my family's well being.

I have a wife and children to protect and I will start cleaning the gene pool real quick.[/Quote]
eyesight couldn't of been that bad to shoot all 3 in rapid succession.

Age doesn't matter when it comes to shooting. If a 20 yr old pulls the trigger and hits somebody, they will be just as dead or wounded as if a 6 yr old does it or a 92 yr old woman. Self defense is justified. Once fired upon, you shoot back.

I agree with above, they MAY of not been right to enter if they had misinformation but legally they were in the right since they had all the paperwork done. Were they right in returning fire AFTER they had all been hit. Definately. Good for them for being able to act after taking fire.

 

[dinoap]

I'm sorry to see this happen; however, I will further state if she was the blue hair that cut me off and almost killed me the other day while she was using the "force" to drive her 1978 Caprice Classic....they should have let me shoot her.

 

[BlueHaya]

Plain clothes, nighttime, scared old alone lady with a gun.....not a good combination.

I am just reading posts...if they knocked and notified how were they shot approaching? Did they kick in the door? How fast can a 91 year old lady get her gun and shoot 3 well-trained cops??

I think there is need for an investigation.

 

[basscrazy]

(BlueHaya @ Nov. 22 2006,13:41) Plain clothes, nighttime, scared old alone lady with a gun.....not a good combination.

I am just reading posts...if they knocked and notified how were they shot approaching?  Did they kick in the door?  How fast can a 91 year old lady get her gun and shoot 3 well-trained cops??

I think there is need for an investigation.

I truly hope they get to the bottom of this!!! I can't see how a 92 year old women at 7:00pm (dark) shoot three well trained cops. The cops were serving a drug warrant or something. The probability for gun fire is high when you are doing anything that involves drugs isn't it

. Entry teams serving drug related warrants announce by knocking down the door don't they

Very interesting

 

[Rhythm]

(captain @ Nov. 22 2006,11:08) The real question is what does the warrant say? What information did the police have to make the determination that the house had illegal drugs?

Everybody wants to be a thug including a few that are on the side of justice.  To me the whole approach was all wrong.  Why couldn't a snitch (buyer) or undercover agent been dispatched to the house prior while  investigating the so called drug house ? After enough evidence had been gathered, then go to the judge for a search and arrest warrant .  

At this point the officers had permission to enter and a understanding of what they were getting into prior entering the house.  

The plan should have been to take control over the target (house) before entering, not busting in wearing plain clothes like a couple of thugs doing a smash and grab.   A professionally controlled approach securing the target could have avoided the lost live and injured officers  


Whatever happen to investigating ?  
I feel sorry for the few here that feel its ok for someone to accuse someone else of a crime and espect the law to respond swiftly without aleast investigating the report.

For the civilans here that do not work or that are blessed to live in less drama filled community, please imagine yourself a situation, living in a community were crime is happening on a daily basis.  Hearing and reading about Thugs  (wearing plain cloths) doing a smash and grab or knocking on door saying they're the police, utilityman etc. only to be robbed, raped and murdered.



I dont know the full story but based on what I've read I agree a full investigation is in order here.

my.02

 

[thrasherfox]

(Rhythm @ Nov. 22 2006,14:42)

(captain @ Nov. 22 2006,11:08) The real question is what does the warrant say? What information did the police have to make the determination that the house had illegal drugs?

Everybody wants to be a thug including a few that are on the side of justice.  To me the whole approach was all wrong.  Why couldn't a snitch (buyer) or undercover agent been dispatched to the house prior while  investigating the so called drug house ? After enough evidence had been gathered, then go to the judge for a search and arrest warrant .  

At this point the officers had permission to enter and a understanding of what they were getting into prior entering the house.  

The plan should have been to take control over the target (house) before entering, not busting in wearing plain clothes like a couple of thugs doing a smash and grab.   A professionally controlled approach securing the target could have avoided the lost live and injured officers  


Whatever happen to investigating ?  
I feel sorry for the few here that feel its ok for someone to accuse someone else of a crime and espect the law to respond swiftly without aleast investigating the report.

For the civilans here that do not work or that are blessed to live in less drama filled community, please imagine yourself a situation, living in a community were crime is happening on a daily basis.  Hearing and reading about Thugs  (wearing plain cloths) doing a smash and grab or knocking on door saying they're the police, utilityman etc. only to be robbed, raped and murdered.



I dont know the full story but based on what I've read I agree a full investigation is in order here.

my.02

+1

 

[V8N3T]

....

 

[heavybusa]

(thrasherfox @ Nov. 22 2006,17:59)

(Rhythm @ Nov. 22 2006,14:42)

(captain @ Nov. 22 2006,11:08) The real question is what does the warrant say? What information did the police have to make the determination that the house had illegal drugs?

Everybody wants to be a thug including a few that are on the side of justice.  To me the whole approach was all wrong.  Why couldn't a snitch (buyer) or undercover agent been dispatched to the house prior while  investigating the so called drug house ? After enough evidence had been gathered, then go to the judge for a search and arrest warrant .  

At this point the officers had permission to enter and a understanding of what they were getting into prior entering the house.  

The plan should have been to take control over the target (house) before entering, not busting in wearing plain clothes like a couple of thugs doing a smash and grab.   A professionally controlled approach securing the target could have avoided the lost live and injured officers  


Whatever happen to investigating ?  
I feel sorry for the few here that feel its ok for someone to accuse someone else of a crime and espect the law to respond swiftly without aleast investigating the report.

For the civilans here that do not work or that are blessed to live in less drama filled community, please imagine yourself a situation, living in a community were crime is happening on a daily basis.  Hearing and reading about Thugs  (wearing plain cloths) doing a smash and grab or knocking on door saying they're the police, utilityman etc. only to be robbed, raped and murdered.



I dont know the full story but based on what I've read I agree a full investigation is in order here.

my.02

+1

agreed, I dont think they should have been in that situation.