Woman, 92, dies in shootout with police

[K C Muffin]

Originally Posted by Highwayman

Or flush the evidence down the toilet.

yepper

[wordsmythe]

I'd prefer to see every criminal sneak out the back door once or twice than see a single innocent woman murdered in her own home for defending it.

The criminals will always get a second chance.

[TexKan]

Well speaking from the point of view of the mom of the feller that breaks the door down...... the point man - ya gotta remember my baby ain't got a gun in his hand when he's bustin down a door. In the hundreds of times he's done it - they have been wrong once. They were given the wrong apt. They even radio'd that the door wasn't steel like it was supposed to be but the narc division said......nope this is the place. The swat doesn't do the investigation - they get the pathway cleared and serve the warrent......... at least down here that's how it goes. Personally if someone is shootin at my son - I want them dead. Don't matter what age they are to me. All I can say is she had reflexes like no 92yo I ever saw.............. sumthin's missin here.

[Highwayman]

Originally Posted by TexKan

............. sumthin's missin here.

That's what I'm thinking.

[Bubba]

Originally Posted by K C Muffin

Ok, Hiway (and even Wordie - how 'bout that?) - I gotcha....I just don't get how the woman was armed and shooting so quickly. Does she sit in her rocking chair with the gun in her lap? I just remember my grandma used to sit in her chair with the front of her house in full view while she watched her "stories" on TV. I just think it would be hard to surprise someone like that. I don't necessarily agree with breaking the door down and forcing their way inside, but I think that if they'd knocked and pleasantly announced themself, the supposed perp would have been gone out the back door or upstairs window. Maybe it's my Pollyanna side comin' out, but I generally believe that cops act reasonably. Sometimes I'm wrong. Definitely got the wrong house. Definitely. Heads'll roll over that, I'm sure.

I've got my 357 mag beside my couch downstairs when I watch TV, I've got a 25 auto in my bathroom, I've got a 380 auto by my bedside and also a 12 guage in my bedroom, and I'm a pretty light sleeper.

[wordsmythe]

Originally Posted by Bubba

I've got my 357 mag beside my couch downstairs when I watch TV, I've got a 25 auto in my bathroom, I've got a 380 auto by my bedside and also a 12 guage in my bedroom, and I'm a pretty light sleeper.

AND a tad paranoid?

Free advice, If you don't intend to just throw that .25 and the .380 at someone I'd suggest selling them and buying something that will actually do some good.

[Highwayman]

So I went back to the link Wordy posted this morning and it looks like the story was updated and expanded. (common practice) I’ll repost it with a few comments added in red.

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- Many people on the run-down northwest Atlanta street where Kathryn Johnston lived fortify their windows with metal bars and arm themselves for protection.
Yeah, bad neighborhood like I thought.

Johnston, 92, was no exception.

Alone in her home, she was waiting with her gun on Tuesday night when a group of plainclothes officers with a warrant knocked down her door in a search for drugs, police said.
Note the officers are “plainclothes” and probably look like common thugs.

She opened fire, wounding three officers, before being shot to death, police said. (Watch niece's fury at police shooting)

Assistant Police Chief Alan Dreher called the killing "tragic and unfortunate" but said the officers were justified in returning fire.
Expected PR damage control.

"You don't know who's in the house until you open that door," Dreher said Wednesday. "And once they forced open the door, they were immediately fired upon."
They were expecting milk and cookies maybe?

The Rev. Markel Hutchins, a civil rights activist and spokesman for Johnston's family, said he could understand why the elderly woman would arm herself.
Me too.

"She was afraid," Hutchins said. "This is a horrifying situation in a neighborhood where crime happens often. This incident is a result of a mix-up."
Not on her part, she lived there.

The officers had gone to the old woman's house with a search warrant after buying drugs there from a man known only as Sam, police said. (Watch what police and family say about the shooting -- 2:53)

Police issued a "John Doe" warrant on Wednesday for the arrest of Sam, believed to be in his early to mid 30s, who allegedly sold the drugs to the undercover agent.
They were looking for a 30 year old guy and didn’t have the place under surveillance to be sure he was there? Great, now he’s alert that he’s wanted and won’t go anywhere near the place. Good luck finding him now.

Dreher would not say how the dealer knew Johnston.

Investigators also said they found drugs in the home after Johnston was killed.
If the mystery man suspect didn’t stash them you can bet the cops did after they realized the PR nightmare they’re going to have.

Officer Joe Cobb, a police spokesman, said the type of drug involved would not be disclosed until it was verified by the crime lab.
Or until they see what they got in the evidence room that won’t be missed.

District Attorney Paul Howard said his office is looking into the shooting but that a preliminary review indicated the officers had a right to search the home.
Don’t expect any subsequent reviews to find anything different.

Crime and drugs are a part of the landscape in the rough neighborhood where Johnston lived, and her neighbors said they do what it takes to protect themselves.

"It's the roughest neighborhood in Georgia," said 56-year-old Allen Pernel, who lives a few blocks from Johnston's home. "If she thought somebody was coming into her house, she did what any of us would have done."

Al Harley, a 50-year-old homeless man who hangs out in front of a neighborhood convenience store, said residents follow a sort of credo: "Don't let anyone disrespect your door."

The police chief said the officers had identified themselves and then forced open the door of Johnson's house where she had lived for 17 years.
Refer to my previous comment about home invasions and thugs claiming to be police when breaking in.

Investigator Gary Smith, 38, was shot in the leg and Investigator Cary Bond, 38, was struck in the arm.

Investigator Gregg Junnier, 40, was hit in the leg, the face and his bulletproof vest. They were taken to the hospital and are expected to recover.

Johnston had no children and her closest relative was a 75-year-old niece, neighbors said.

"She hardly came outside her home," said Tameka Walker, 28, who lives behind Johnston's house and used to visit her. "She's not a 92-year-old grouchy old woman you think she was. She's a very nice person."
Correction, was a nice person.

[Highwayman]

Originally Posted by Bubba

I've got my 357 mag beside my couch downstairs when I watch TV, I've got a 25 auto in my bathroom, I've got a 380 auto by my bedside and also a 12 guage in my bedroom, and I'm a pretty light sleeper.

Right on! You never know what room you’ll be in when the door gets kicked in.

Originally Posted by wordsmythe

AND a tad paranoid?

Free advice, If you don't intend to just throw that .25 and the .380 at someone I'd suggest selling them and buying something that will actually do some good.

I’m not hot on a .25 for much of anything. A .380 is about as low as I would go and I think it’s OK at close range like in the house or close quarters back-up. But I’ve been thinking a 357 might be too much indoors. Muzzle flash in the dark would give you momentary blindness and without ear protection temporarily hearing impaired. Not good because smell, taste, touch and a bad gut feeling ain’t going to cut it.

I’m thinking .38 sp with 158 gr. wad cutters. Hollow points can fill with heavy clothing and fail to expand. I really think a 12 gauge is best for inside. A 20 inch barrel with 8 round mag and a pistol grip so it handles easy in tight quarters. Some folks argue that a full stock can be used as a club but that ain’t going work in a hallway. I prefer a bayonet. If the perp gets hung up on it it’s a can’t miss situation. Others say you need it for recoil. Damn, you don’t need 3” shells with #4 buck either. 2 ¾ low brass with #6 is fine and you don’t have to worry about wall and window penetration.

[wordsmythe]

Looks to me like this woman was murdered by the cops' incompetance and over confidence. Let's hope the cover up goes as well as their investigation.

My Mossberg 500 is cut to the legal bone with pistol grips and in a child proof container I can open in the dark. And EVERYONE knows what the sound of a shotty getting pumped means for them.

I've only had one .380 and it was pretty much worthless if you have any distance at all to deal with.

My XD .40 subcompact will be my carry gun... When I'm legal that is.

[TexKan]

Plainclothes - means theyhad on vests clearly marked POLICE - they announced themselves before they broke the door. - The shots came from inside the house first - not one shot but enough to hit 3 men. If there was an error I'm sure the piper will be paid. Perhaps the niece that was so concerned shoulda been more concerned over the drugs that were bein dealt outta the house. "Somebody's gonna answer" - that's her quote - what it means is "I got an attorney", "I want money from the city to take care of me the rest of my life" I think the jumping to conclusions is rather premature. Truth is is - A society that wages war with it's police will be forced to make peace with it's criminals................Words of wisdom from someone - DIL's tag line. I think about that everytime I hear about sumthin that sounds like a 1984 trhowback. I'll wait for the truth to surface and hope that when it does the right ones get punished.