Kathryn Johnston Case Study

Kathryn Johnston (June 26, 1914- November 21, 2006) was an elderly Atlanta Georgia, woman who was shot by undercover cops in her home on Neal street in Northwest Atlanta on November 21, 2006, where she had lived for 17 years. Three cops had entered her house in what was later described as a "botched" drug raid. Those cops cut off burglar bars and broke down her door using a no-knock warrant. Officers said that Johnston fired at them so they fired in response; she fired one shot out the door over the cops' heads; therefore, they fired 39 shots, five of six of which hit her. None of the cops were injured by her gunfire, but Johnston was killed by the police. Cops injuries were later attributed to "friendly fire" from each other's weapons.
One of the police officers planted marijuana in Johnston's house after the shooting. Later investigations found that the paperwork stating that drugs present at Johnston's house, which had been the basis for the raid, had been falsified. The cops later admitted to having lied when they submitted cocaine as evidence claiming that they had bought it at Johnston's house. Three of them were tried for manslaughter and other charges surrounding falsification and were sentenced to ten, six, and five years.

The New Orleans Police Department, consistently one of the most brutal in the nation, has seen dozens of its officers arrested in the last two years for robbery, murder and other felonies. One officer is a suspect in several