Or, in journospeak:
The War on Drugs continues. Hat Tip BoingBoing.She was killed by officers after they used a no-knock warrant — obtained with falsified evidence — to storm into her house in search of drugs an informant had inaccurately told them were inside. Apparently thinking the officers were robbers, Johnston fired a shot through the door. Officers responded with 39 shots, five or six of which struck her.
The officers initially sought to cover up their actions in obtaining the warrant, but their story eventually unraveled. All three pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate Johnston’s civil rights.
Carnes said she hopes that if anything good comes from Johnston’s death it will be “a renewed effort by the Atlanta Police Department to prevent something like this from ever happening again.”
She also said the “pressures brought to bear” by the department’s performance quotas, calling for officers to get a certain number of warrants and arrests, “did have an impact on these and other officers on the force.”
