Cops Admit To Planting Marijuana on 92 Year Old Woman

[paularoid]

Cops Admit To Planting Marijuana on 92 Year Old Woman Killed in Botched Drug Raid MPP: Two police officers pleaded guilty Thursday to manslaughter in the shooting death of a 92-year-old woman during a botched drug raid last fall. A third officer still faces charges.[..] The charges followed a Nov. 21 "no-knock" drug raid on the home of Kathryn Johnston, 92. An informant had described buying drugs from a dealer there, police said. When the officers burst in without warning, Johnston fired at them, and they fired back, killing her. Fulton County prosecutor Peter Johnson said that the officers involved in Johnston's death fired 39 shots, striking her five or six times, including a fatal blow to the chest. He said Johnston fired only once through her door and didn't hit any of the officers. That means the officers who were wounded likely were hit by their own colleagues, he said.[..]

Assistant U.S. Attorney Yonette Sam-Buchanan said Thursday that although the officers found no drugs in Johnston's home, Smith planted three bags of marijuana in the home as part of a cover story.

The case raised serious questions about no-knock warrants and whether the officers followed proper procedures.

Referral Source: http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/04/29/cops-admit-to-planting-marijuana-on-92-year-old-woman-killed-in-botched-drug-raid/

Original Source: http://www.mpp.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=glKZLeMQIsG&b=1847069&ct=3829713

[Darlene]

I know some drug dealers are old, but this lady was 92 yrs old and it was a botched raid so to cover their arses they planted Marijuana on her could they not think of anything else. :eek:
This is a sad state of affairs when we make mistakes and make it look like a 92 yr old lady did it.:confused:
Peace, Darlene

[DaveM]

How many cops have shot other cops in recent incidents? It seems there have been several. Should these people really be trusted with guns?

I'm more than slightly curious as to how many of these things occur and never come to light. We've had at least two police shootings in this area over the last couple of years where it seems as if police left a gun on the floor next to the hand of someone they shot "by mistake". Not quite my idea of the "thin blue line separating society from criminals".

[Randy & Betty in Pa]

Ever notice for every negative report about law enforcement how really few positive ones seem to be news worthy? Yes there are some bad cops... But there are some truely great ones as well that would be willing to put their butt on the line for others without thought....

Personally I support and thank the vast majority of the Law enforcement community... Bad cops are like bad politicians ... they get all the press....

Best to all

R. from pa

[RedjackRyan]

I'm with ya on that one Randy. Like any other job, there are good folks and there are bad folks.. The bad folks get all the press, I know many fine law enforcement officers.

[DaveM]

I'll go along with that--we didn't hear about the hundreds if not thousands of law enforcement personnel who did truly heroic things the very same day. And that isn't fair to them or to the profession.

Now if they really want to set a good example for the rest of us, let's see the individuals who shot that woman tried for murder, fraud, 1st Degree Assault, evidence tampering, and anything else the DA could think of if the people in question were five black kids who were arrested for wearing the sale color jackets.

[paularoid]

I wouldn't knock -all- cops,.... just these particular cops and those in charge at that particular department that let them get away with this type of behavour.

[Wildflower Fever]

Even though I've been known to be anti-authoritarian, I seem to know quite a few cops. What I can say is this: people seem to forget that cops are just like us, therefore will likely react at some point just like we will, unlawfully. Just as we all sometimes break the rules, no matter how minute in nature, some cops do too. Nearly every cop friend I have has done things I find surprising when on the job, but how can I say if I woke up in that profession tomorrow, I would instantly be a saint. That being said, as in any group, there are some bad apples. But, the majority keep as their priority to serve the public good.

[DaveM]

Well, I'll never make a saint, I know that without question. But I will never believe that any profession or group of people should be above the law, especially those charged with enforcing said law. With hold authority to a lesser standard at our peril.

Some of you know my story. I do not believe it to be a universal experience. But no one was ever disciplined for what happened to me and all of those involved are still employed in law enforcement or the judiciary. It's a great eye-opener when someone with "authority" decides that you are disposable. I hope for a world in which such situations simply do not happen, or at least one in which those who abuse their authority are punished according to the same standards to which they are supposed to hold everyone else.

[Wildflower Fever]

No disagreement here, Dave, as to the ideal of noone being above the law. Unfortunately, I think we're dealing with human nature in a society that increasingly cares little about it's fellow man. And the larger the city you live in, compounds the number of peace officers required which almost guarantees pockets of corruption. I clearly don't condone the way you were treated, nor the way that 92 year old woman was treated. I'm simply pointing out that a lot of cops probably "bend the rules" in less tantamount and disgusting ways. Such as, trying to assure the keg party your son is at is not busted, I saw this a lot in high school, but I would say this particular cop probably transgressed no further than this on the job.

[Dee]

The vast majority of police officers bring order in a world of chaos, and let's face it, there's an awful lot of chaos going on in the world. Their jobs are dangerous and I for one certainly couldn’t live with that kind of pressure every day.

This planting marijuana on someone is a tragedy, but I try to be careful not to paint people or groups of people with broad strokes (not that I see anyone here doing that).

[aabram]

I'm not going say anything here except I feel very sorry for this woman's family....someone's granny, great granny or even great, great granny. Did these guys ever stop to think how her family would feel before they covered their tracks by telling so much lies????

[DaveM]

Wildflower--I have no problem with police officers exercising their "discretion"--to a degree. When someone stops a drunk and it turns out to be another officer's son or daughter and the cop simply gives him/her a ride home instead of arresting him....it's hard for me to find much fault. After all, the kid is going to get a chewing out at home that s/he'll never forget (so I would hope, at least), and if there's a second time, s/he almost certainly won't get away with it. I see no harm in such things--frankly, if everyone who committed some petty offense were to be arrested and charged, the entire country would be one huge prison.

Now and then someone takes it too far. This case is a fine example. Another would be a hit and run case that took place a few years ago in this aea in which "someone" ran down a young woman, presumably while intoxicated, then dumped her body in a gravel pit. His car, complete with front end damage, sat in his driveway for weeks until it was towed off and destroyed. His father was a local police officer. The case remains "unsolved".

In Texas, an innocent woman sits on Death Row (no, I do not refer to Cathy Henderson) in part because a police detective feared his son might have been involved in the case and so ignored or actually destroyed significant evidence. The son almost certainly had no involvement in the case, but neither did the woman who is now sitting in a 6x10 foot cell awaiting an appointment with the executioner. How can one condone this?

I agree that such cases are the exception rather than the rule. But we as a society can do better. Our police can do better. And to the extent that they do not, we are cheapened as a society and as a people. Someone must, to paraphrase the Latin poet, guard the guards.

[Darlene]

I understand that a lot of police are under a lot of pressure. You don't take a seventeen year old girl and feel her up or then a couple of years later a different officer with his partner talk in such a crude manner to that young girl that it would make you gag.
She at fifty-two still stays her distance from anyone in a police uniform.
Good stories maybe but none involving that female.
Peace, Darlene

[Randy & Betty in Pa]

Well.... I have to say having seen the coments about law enforcement... Yes there are some bad cops as I often and repeatedly see attested to here.... But once again why is it that only the negative stories seem to get emphasized... I almost get the feeling that some people are seeking positions with the media mainstream....

I was brought up with a basic philosophy "If you have nothing good to say, say nothing" well that philosophy dosen't work as there is bad in this world and it does need to be exposed....BUT, equally important is that there is good out there at all. People are not molded from a one size fits all type of mold.. In all fairness to those in a very dangerous occupation the predjudice I see being aimed at police officers in general by the media and some individuals both on and off line strikes me as bashing... Some cops do in fact deserve it.... but I for one could tell you far more positive things about dedicated cops then the ones that make the outlandish blunders and then attempt to cover them up...Some coments I have seen apply to situations which are based on the acts of an individual officer yet the ire and wrath that follows borders often on disrespectful or even hate speech toward the majority of those in the occupation...
Those that have met me know I am not the clean cut American boy and have for much of my life lived with a bit of rebellion in my soul. That said however I am often accused of looking like the "biker from hell" (even though I fall of motorcycles with no gracefulness). Directly stated if I was cop and I stopped me I would evaluate me as a potential threat. Knowing that I have learned to just deal with officers with simple respect and make no sudden moves staying clearly in view and things always seem to work out for the best. Of all the times I have been stopped wether guilty or innocent of whatever I was suspected of I have always been treated with a reasonable level of respect as related to the situation at hand....

Yes there are a few bad cops... But how about giving the good ones a break?

Just a rant...

Best to you all

R. from Pa

[Dee]

Sad to say Randy, but this seems to be the state of the media - sensational and "shocking" ahead of actual news.

If people would quit buying these types of media, they would eventually die out. Unfortunately the appetite seems to remain for negative news stories so they go on publishing them. Balanced journalism it seems is a rarity nowadays.

[Darlene]

The only run ins's I have had with the law were the one mentioned. If stopped by police I don't think I would let them get close to me. I will (who may not be any better than the men) have a female officer called. I may get shot but I don't care, I will not be treated like that again. I have been deeply traumatized by those two situations. Oh yes, I was afraid to report them and until a few years back when I finally got a little less intimated.
No media, no press just a very frightened young girl.
Peace, Darlene

[DaveM]

Randy, I could use some "good cops" just now. Earlier today I was making the rounds of Eveleth's annual Citywide Rummage Sale--basically 80 rummage sales in a town of less than 4000 and a treasure trove for the packrat. While I was at one sale, the fellow running it said he'd been having trouble with his neighbor, that the fellow had been running a meth lab and was arrested last fall, only to return home after a couple of days with no apparent consequences. By his account, the guy has been terrorizing the neighborhood ever since.

As I headed back to my car (I was parked in an alley) along came the neighbor--in a one ton flatbed truck with a large cylinder of anhydrous ammonia sitting on the back (illegal to possess unless you're a licensed agricultural applicator and a key ingredient in making methamphetamine). The guy laid on his horn, then jumped out with a guard dog which he let loose (it stopped about three feet in front of me): "GET THE F*CK OFF MY PROPERTY! THAT'S WHERE I PARK!" (he owns the alley?). For emphasis he patted the inevitable holstered gun on his waistband (2nd time I've been threatened with a gun locally in less than one month).

I jumped into my car (fortunately the dog kept its distance) and backed some distance away. He parked the truck and went into the house with his dog. I went to the fellow whose sale I had visited as I knew he had a cell phone, explained what had happened, and asked him to call police. He said: "they won't come", and was reluctant to do so but finally called. He talked to the cops, I talked to the cops, we caught an earful of baloney ("well if you were on his property he had a right to ask you to leave" was one line), and nope, no one ever did show up to investigate.

So Randy, if you know some good cops who are willing to work around here, please let them know that there is a meth lab (big one by the size of the ammonia tank) operating at the end of South Norman Avenue in Eveleth, Minnesota and that a man there is threatening and harassing people (and probably carrying a gun illegally). Since you know good cops, I have every confidence that something will be done. If they give you trouble, remind them that they had no trouble summoning 35 officers including a SWAT team to evacuate 20 homes and surround a house containing a passed-out drunk not too long ago, so manpower shouldn't be a problem. The local station, incidentally, can be reach at (218)-744-7560. The Chief's name is Brian Lillis.

For my part, I regard this as an example of a long-time belief that if the police know you will fight back, they won't boher you. But heaven help the person who cooperates and still believes that the police are their friends.

[Wildflower Fever]

Randy, I could use some "good cops" just now. Earlier today I was making the rounds of Eveleth's annual Citywide Rummage Sale--basically 80 rummage sales in a town of less than 4000 and a treasure trove for the packrat. While I was at one sale, the fellow running it said he'd been having trouble with his neighbor, that the fellow had been running a meth lab and was arrested last fall, only to return home after a couple of days with no apparent consequences. By his account, the guy has been terrorizing the neighborhood ever since.

As I headed back to my car (I was parked in an alley) along came the neighbor--in a one ton flatbed truck with a large cylinder of anhydrous ammonia sitting on the back (illegal to possess unless you're a licensed agricultural applicator and a key ingredient in making methamphetamine). The guy laid on his horn, then jumped out with a guard dog which he let loose (it stopped about three feet in front of me): "GET THE F*CK OFF MY PROPERTY! THAT'S WHERE I PARK!" (he owns the alley?). For emphasis he patted the inevitable holstered gun on his waistband (2nd time I've been threatened with a gun locally in less than one month).

I jumped into my car (fortunately the dog kept its distance) and backed some distance away. He parked the truck and went into the house with his dog. I went to the fellow whose sale I had visited as I knew he had a cell phone, explained what had happened, and asked him to call police. He said: "they won't come", and was reluctant to do so but finally called. He talked to the cops, I talked to the cops, we caught an earful of baloney ("well if you were on his property he had a right to ask you to leave" was one line), and nope, no one ever did show up to investigate.

So Randy, if you know some good cops who are willing to work around here, please let them know that there is a meth lab (big one by the size of the ammonia tank) operating at the end of South Norman Avenue in Eveleth, Minnesota and that a man there is threatening and harassing people (and probably carrying a gun illegally). Since you know good cops, I have every confidence that something will be done. If they give you trouble, remind them that they had no trouble summoning 35 officers including a SWAT team to evacuate 20 homes and surround a house containing a passed-out drunk not too long ago, so manpower shouldn't be a problem. The local station, incidentally, can be reach at (218)-744-7560. The Chief's name is Brian Lillis.

For my part, I regard this as an example of a long-time belief that if the police know you will fight back, they won't boher you. But heaven help the person who cooperates and still believes that the police are their friends.

DaveM, I'm not trying to be snotty, believe me. But it appears that the local police are more than likely profiting from this fellow, if they won't even follow up on a meth lab lead. In this case, I'm pretty certain the Minnesota Bureau's of the FBI, or ATF, or DEA, or BCA would be interested in this. I'm sorry, but if there is sufficient evidence and it is commonly thought to be true by you and your cohorts, you wouldn't have to rely on local cops for a problem of this magnitude. I've visited Eveleth, and I'm aware of the state of the economy, and it doesn't surprise me one bit the cops would be on the take or involved perhaps. I'm not ashamed to say this, but I was in town in February and frequented a s***hole called "Tuna's" in downtown Eveleth. I'm pretty sure the "girls" working that night were offering not only their "services", but were more than likely involved with quite a few unsavory individuals there that night who were flying high on something.

[hoops]

but 92 years old??? getting busted for weed??? let her have the danged weed. this opinion has nothing to do with the cops, but with the old lady.
peace
hoops

[DaveM]

Wildflower, I have little or no doubt that you're right. Something is going on other than what meets the eye. Either the fellow is paying someone off (though surely he can't pay off the entire system?) or he is being used as an informant of some sort, which does go on and makes for decidedly strange bedfellows on the part of law enforcement.

I have no problem with that sort of thing if it ends up leading to "bigger fish" being caught. My only concern is: what happens if this guy kills someone while he is serving whatever "higher purpose" he may be? It's been a very long time since I've encountered anyone quite so menacing--and I've sat in prisons and played checkers and cards with convicted murderers serving life (as a visitor, mind). This guy literally made my flesh crawl and at the same time made me want to strike back at him (of course I will not).

"Tuna's" is the worst hole in the entire town and patronized for the most part by the worst sort of local people. I would not be at all surprised if it is a center for the local drug trade. I do know that "the girls" give out phone numbers and take "private calls" (heard this from others, folks....sorry).

There was one quite grisly drug-related murder here about a year ago, so drug-related violence is hardly new to the area. I really would like to speak up about this guy, but....being unarmed and out of favor with the police, I certainly don't want my name involved in it. He's on the other end of town and I'd like to think I'll never see him again. But who knows how long he might hold a grudge over my having occupied "his" parking space?

Another oddity which may or may not have have any connection: this guy lives two doors down from a woman who was a very close friend for some years and almost a romantic partner at one point. When we began to get "too close", another woman intervened with every variety of harassment including phony calls to police (that's popular around her), vandalism to my car, and any number of niceties (she once started a fist fight in a bank lobby...I just kept bakin away...). My old friend hasn't spoken to me in years and the last time I did speak to her she threatened me with a restraining order. I haven't the faintest idea what I supposedly did to justify such a response.

Now what makes this interesting is that during part of the period I knew her including the forced "split", as I later learned, her oldest son was in prison for drug trafficking.

A connection? Who can say. But something is decidedly rotten in the city of Eveleth. And I may well have jumped to conclusions by believing it to be the local police.

[Wildflower Fever]

Is the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame still there?

[DaveM]

It actually closed last fall and there is so little local interest in it that no one even noticed! There is talk of reopening it, but the place has never attracted enough visitors to pay the expenses of running the place. I don't even know what's in there--it may well be the least-visited hall of fame on earth.

[Wildflower Fever]

It actually closed last fall and there is so little local interest in it that no one even noticed! There is talk of reopening it, but the place has never attracted enough visitors to pay the expenses of running the place. I don't even know what's in there--it may well be the least-visited hall of fame on earth.

(Sung to the tune by The Pretenders) "Ay, Oh, way to go, State of Hockey!"

[DaveM]

Minnesota has never had a great hockey team during recorded history (though some great players have come from here). Why the Hockey Hall of Fame should be located in a town of 3800 that is almost as off the beaten track within the state as it's possible to be, I have absolutely no idea.

Isn't the "real" Hockey Hall Of Fame actually in, er, Toronto (sorry for mentioning the name, Dee)?

[Wildflower Fever]

I believe the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Canada. As for Minnesota, it's true that (excluding the University of Minnesota's Gophers) professional hockey dominance has eluded us. But, I will say, much like Massacheusetts, hockey as a culture definitely has important roots and spirit here. I think the proudest moment was definitely the 1980 Olympic team that was coached by a Minnesotan, Herb Brooks, and made up of something like 80% Minnesotan players.

[Wildflower Fever]

Wow, how did I veer from police corruption to the state of hockey in Minnesota? I apologize, for my lack of focus.:o

[DaveM]

Hey, at least we didn't stray to....food....

[Dee]

I believe the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Canada.

You are correct Wildflower. It's in Toronto:

http://www.hhof.com/

[DaveM]

Ogod, he said it! He said it!