Bad shooting????

[bdsnooks]

FWIW,

I found this on "rec.guns" this morning-----


ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- A 92-year-old woman was shot to death Tuesday after she fired at
three narcotics officers trying to serve a warrant at her house, officials said.

Neighbors and relatives said it must have been a case of mistaken identity. Police said
they had the right address.

Police said the woman, identified as Kathryn Johnson, was the only person home at the
time, and had lived there for about 17 years.

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.

Assistant Chief Alan Dreher said the officers had a legal warrant and "knocked and
announced" before they forced open the door. He said they were justified in returning fire
when they were fired upon.

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.

Sarah Dozier, identified as a niece of the woman, told WAGA-TV that there were never any
drugs at the house.

"My aunt was in good health. I'm sure she panicked when they kicked that door down,"
Dozier said. "There was no reason they had to go in there and shoot her down like a dog."

[phddan]

Way too little info on this to form an opinion.

Dan

[Charles L. Cotton]

Way too little info on this to form an opinion.

Dan

I will say that while the three hits weren't COM, I hope at 92 I can still make three hits on three guys after being scared stiff by a door crashing in!

Chas.

[tomneal]

another life lost, and three officers wounded in the war on some drugs.

I often wonder if "the solution" isn't worse than "the problem".

[casselthief]

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.

?
they hadn't even gotten in yet? seems like conventional wisdom says to retreat, but hey, whatev.

and yeah, the whole thing just sucks.

[KBCraig]

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.

?
they hadn't even gotten in yet?

You forgot the next paragraph:

Assistant Chief Alan Dreher said the officers had a legal warrant and "knocked and announced" before they forced open the door. He said they were justified in returning fire when they were fired upon.

Here's what stood out to me: "As the plainclothes Atlanta police officers approached..."

Serving a forced-entry warrant in plain clothes? Sorry, but I'd be right there with Granny, firing on what were obviously home invaders.

Hit three of three. Rest well, Granny.

[txinvestigator]

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.

?
they hadn't even gotten in yet? seems like conventional wisdom says to retreat, but hey, whatev.

and yeah, the whole thing just sucks.

Suppressive fire is always proper when a team is being fired upon.

Tends to keep more of you from getting shot.

[Skipper5]

Way too little info on this to form an opinion.

Dan

I will say that while the three hits weren't COM, I hope at 92 I can still make three hits on three guys after being scared stiff by a door crashing in!

Chas.

Exactly my thoughts as well Chas!!
//John

[kauboy]

Her mistake: firing on announced officers.
Their mistake(HUGE ONE): showing up in plain clothes and asserting themselves as officers.

I really can't blame her for shooting. The Department should be sued and fined.

But as stated earlier, not enough info to make a responsible conclusion. She could have been a dope dealin granny

[cyphur]

Hate to see another life lost, but if I was a LEO and getting fired upon, I would send lead down range too. Regardless if it was a 10 yo, 25 yo, or a 95yo, their bullets all kill me just the same.

[casselthief]

You forgot the next paragraph:

Assistant Chief Alan Dreher said the officers had a legal warrant and "knocked and announced" before they forced open the door. He said they were justified in returning fire when they were fired upon.

I didn't forget it, it says she started shooting as they approached. then they knocked and kicked in the door.
if you read the paragraph chronologically.
as a whole, the article is flawed.
sure, maybe they were plain clothes officers, but did they have their vest things on that say "Sheriff's Dept" or "Police" or "The good guys" or whatever
point is, the article is terrible.

it makes it sound like as they walked up, she started shooting. they hit the door, announced their intentions, kicked in the door, she fired again, they spewed hot lead her direction.

once again, to make sure things are clear (seems to be a problem here) I was commenting on the article sounding like rubbish.

Suppressive fire is always proper when a team is being fired upon.

Tends to keep more of you from getting shot.

you'd know better than I would

[ElGato]

My opinion. There has to be another way, this happens to often, knocking and anouncing wouldn't do any good at my house, 70% deaf, military disability, I need to be looking at whoever is speaking when not wearing hearing aids. I also think that the time limit to answer is way to short, few will answer their door that fast.

If an innocent woman was killed in her home, there's no excuse good enough.

[phddan]

Charles L. Cotton

I will say that while the three hits weren't COM, I hope at 92 I can still make three hits on three guys after being scared stiff by a door crashing in!

Chas.

I definately agree with you on this, and I would like to say I could do that good right now at age 45. But unless you've been in a situation like that, you can't say for sure. I train in my back yard for all kinds of scenarios, including multiple attackers, but my targets aint got weapons pointing back!!

Dan

[Liberty]

Just a couple of things. They were wearing body armor. Granny emptied a six shooter which was described as a "rusty old thing". I think she did some mighty fine shooting. She did get one guy in the mouth so it sounds like a head shot.

The Police spokesman first claimed Mrs. Johnson fired as the officers approached the house. Later on it came out they were fired upon after they knocked announced and broke through her door.

Some things are painfully clear.

The cops were fully justified in firing upon the officers.

Mrs. Johnson was fully justified in firing upon 3 men who broke her door down to get inside. There was no reason not to have a police cruiser and a real uniformed police officer at that scene. If one wasn't available, they could have done it at another time.

The police dept. Started off lying. They showed an early willingness to lie and cover up for themselves. The Atlanta police dept. is not to be trusted. This should be investigated externally.

Mrs. Johnson lived alone. It looks unlikely to me that the officers were at the right place even though the cops are insisting they had the correct location.

Many of us would would have reacted in a similar way as Mrs. Johnson, except that we might have used more deadly technique. Anyone not it in uniform barging through my door claiming to be cops will likely get shot.

[Paladin]

More info:

http://www.11alive.com/news/news_articl ... ryid=88020

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/pages ... geId=1.1.1