Kathryn Johnston died in a hail of bullets
Third Atlanta Police Officer Pleads Guilty In Fatal Shooting of Elderly Woman - Yahoo! News
Third Atlanta Police Officer Pleads Guilty In Fatal Shooting of Elderly Woman
2 hrs 35 mins ago
To: NATIONAL EDITORS
Contact: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, +1-202-514-2007, TDD +1-202-514-1888
WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Justice Department announced today that former Atlanta Police Department (APD) Officer Arthur Bruce Tesler pleaded guilty in federal district court to conspiring to violate the civil rights of Kathryn Johnston, 92, in connection with her fatal shooting during the execution of an illegal search warrant at her Atlanta home on Nov.21, 2006.
Tesler, of Ackworth, Ga., joins two other former APD officers who pleaded guilty last year to state and federal charges in the case. Gregg Junnier, of Woodstock, Ga., and Jason R. Smith, of Oxford, Ga., pleaded guilty in state court to voluntary manslaughter, violation of oath by a public officer, criminal solicitation and false statements, and in federal court to a civil rights conspiracy violation that resulted in the death of Ms. Johnston. Smith also pleaded guilty in state court to one count of perjury. Junnier and Smith also agreed to cooperate in a broader investigation of APD officer misconduct, which has since been completed.
When law enforcement officers do not live up to the high ideals they typically uphold, we will not hesitate to take action, said Grace Chung Becker, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division. The Department of Justice will continue to vigorously prosecute those who cross the line and commit such violent criminal acts.
According to the information presented in court, Junnier and Smith, on several occasions while working as APD narcotics officers, made false statements in sworn affidavits to state magistrate judges in order to obtain no knock search warrants for residences and other locations where the officers believed illegal drugs would be found.
On the afternoon of Nov. 21, 2006, Smith, Junnier and Tesler executed such a warrant at Johnstons home, knowing that the warrant had been obtained on the basis of false information that Smith had presented to a magistrate judge. The victim, who was the only occupant of the house, fired through the door a single .38 caliber shot, which hit no one. Junnier, Smith and four other officers returned fire, hitting the victim with five or six shots, one of which was fatal.
Officers searched the home after the shooting, but found no drugs. Smith then planted in the basement of the house three bags of marijuana that the officers had seized elsewhere earlier that day. Tesler then filed a false APD incident report stating that a purchase of crack had been made at Johnstons home earlier that day and Smith submitted two bags containing crack that falsely indicated the drugs were bought by an informant at 933 Neal Street, the home of the victim. The defendants also met to fabricate a story, which they later recounted to APD homicide investigators, falsely justifying the events leading to the shooting of Kathryn Johnston.
Under Teslers plea agreement, the parties agreed that the appropriate sentence under the advisory federal sentencing guidelines is 121 months. The federal sentence will run concurrently with Teslers 54 month state sentence arising from the same criminal conduct. Junnier also faces a guidelines sentence of 121 months, and Smith faces a guidelines sentence of 151 months; those two defendants may, however, receive reductions based on their cooperation with the Governments investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon-Peter Kelly, U.S. Attorney David E. Nahmias, and Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Special Litigation Counsel Paige M. Fitzgerald are prosecuting the case.
SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice
Kathryn Johnston died in a hail of bullets
an idiot pig in prison, even for 1 night is indeed a good experiment for them to learn wtf is up
but wait, do they get special treatment cuz they were cops b4? I bet they will:(
Kathryn Johnston died in a hail of bullets
we will def. like to see karma in this situation.
Kathryn Johnston died in a hail of bullets
Damn she was 92, poor old lady.
Kathryn Johnston died in a hail of bullets
So standard procedure breaks down. These cops just got sloppy a better "Law Enforcement Officer" would have been able to cover his tracks better.
^^Sarcasm^^ (Just in case)
Im actually sorry Mrs. Johnston didnt fire multiple rounds through her door and not with a mesly .38, but something with more punch like a 10 guage.
Idealy these scum bags would learn a lesson about the place they send people and the people they send there, but likely they will be given special treatment. Of course it could be argued that putting any former police officer into general population in any prison would constitute cruel and unusual punishment since we all know what would be done to said former cops. On the other hand that is a brutish and nasty reality that anyone has to face if they are unlucky enough to get sucked into the depths of our legal system.
Kathryn Johnston died in a hail of bullets
Quote:
Originally Posted by Esoteric416
Idealy these scum bags would learn a lesson about the place they send people and the people they send there, but likely they will be given special treatment. Of course it could be argued that putting any former police officer into general population in any prison would constitute cruel and unusual punishment since we all know what would be done to said former cops. On the other hand that is a brutish and nasty reality that anyone has to face if they are unlucky enough to get sucked into the depths of our legal system.
true, but remember prisoners always have their own ways if a "political will" exists among them... its been proven that a lot of them just cannot be stopped or deterred from what they want to do, like rioting, escaping, taking guards hostage, raping, killing others, etc etc etc
I sure hope these mofos learn their lesson while they enjoy their stay there
Kathryn Johnston died in a hail of bullets
I'm sort of surprised she owned a gun and was able to get to it and shoot it so fast, especially at that age, lol.
In all seriousness though, these guys get 121 months? 10 years? You've gotta be shitting me. They plant evidence, give false statements, obstruct justice, voluntarily take someones life, and lie to get warrants where they can break down a persons door if they want. Police as a whole are officially corrupt and a joke. Those fucks deserve to never see daylight again.
Kathryn Johnston died in a hail of bullets
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheNugget
I'm sort of surprised she owned a gun and was able to get to it and shoot it so fast, especially at that age, lol.
In all seriousness though, these guys get 121 months? 10 years? You've gotta be shitting me. They plant evidence, give false statements, obstruct justice, voluntarily take someones life, and lie to get warrants where they can break down a persons door if they want. Police as a whole are officially corrupt and a joke. Those fucks deserve to never see daylight again.
'cooperation with investigation' plus former service for society
maybe if I find a way around hiding my cannabis consumption, i'll become a cop too, only i will be secretly destroying them from inside lol
I always wish I had a job that no cop could tell me do/dont do this or pull me over or some shit, u know, guess i watch too much hollywood, but a special badge certainly feels good in a jungle like this
Kathryn Johnston died in a hail of bullets
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheNugget
I'm sort of surprised she owned a gun and was able to get to it and shoot it so fast, especially at that age, lol.
In all seriousness though, these guys get 121 months? 10 years? You've gotta be shitting me. They plant evidence, give false statements, obstruct justice, voluntarily take someones life, and lie to get warrants where they can break down a persons door if they want. Police as a whole are officially corrupt and a joke. Those fucks deserve to never see daylight again.
10 years should be plenty if they put them in general confinement with the rest of the prisoners. They wouldn't last 2 weeks. Of course thats not where dirty cops end up but they should.
As a note, I would like to see a special thread where a mod will post a story about someones civil rights being violated by cops. Maybe once a week or so have an indepth story. It helps to remind us why cops are not your friends and why we all need to know our rights.
Kathryn Johnston died in a hail of bullets
Just how many "little old ladies" own a hand gun when they live in "bad" neighborhoods! My Dad's mom was one- 3 dudes tried to break in through a window. The cops said, judging from the amount of blood, she either wounded one fatally, or two badly. About a month later, a second "little old lady" took a few shots at an intruder, she missed, but he left rapidly. Burglaries went way down in that neighborhood - the word got around that the old ladies there were MEAN! :thumbsup:
Unfortunately for Kathryn Johnston, the "hoodlums" breaking in were well armed cops, not someone just looking to seal something. :(
