Pubdate: Thu, 24 Nov 2016
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA)
Copyright: 2016 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Contact:  http://www.ajc.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/28
Author: Bill Torpy

AFTER COPS KILLED WIDOW, WHAT CHANGED?

A decade ago, a little old lady living behind burglar bars in a rough
Atlanta neighborhood died in a fusillade of bullets in her own living
room. The invaders were cops on an illegal raid searching for drugs
that never existed.

A week after the Nov. 21, 2006, killing of 92-year-old Kathryn
Johnston, then-Mayor Shirley Franklin faced an angry crowd at Lindsay
Street Baptist Church on the near West Side. For four hours, residents
harangued officials with stories about cops kicking in doors with
unsigned warrants or teens getting slammed to the pavement simply for
hanging around.

"Warning taxpayers & black citizens. Don't dial 911," one protest sign
read. "The police will kill you."

I was one of the reporters detailed to that neighborhood for months to
find out what really happened that night. I vividly remember the
visceral outrage pervading the church. The killing didn't make sense.
Why would cops target a widow's home, a house that seemed to have no
connection to the neighborhood drug trade?
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MAP posted-by: Matt