Botched?
Seen at Tam’s: Three former Atlanta police officers were sentenced Tuesday to prison terms ranging from five to 10 years for covering up a botched drug raid in which a 92-year-old woman was killed.
Is botched a synonym for shooting her, letting her bleed to death while they found drugs to plant in her home and then forced an informant to corroborate their story?
Ten years?
February 25th, 2009 at 10:43 am
You see, it’s only murder if you’re not one of the only ones.
February 25th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Anyone else see a pattern of “botched raids” developing in this country?
Case in point: “Botched para-military police raids” from the CATO Institute”
http://www.cato.org/raidmap/
Money quote: “If a widespread pattern of [knock-and-announce] violations were shown . . . there would be reason for grave concern.”
—Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, in Hudson v. Michigan, June 15, 2006.
February 25th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
No, Uncle, the word for murderous liars who falsify evidence and coerce witnesses is “police officer”.
February 25th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Actually, the word for murderous liars who falsify evidence and coerce witnesses is “some police officers”.
Not all. A few bad apples give the rest a bad name.
February 25th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
I’m not familiar enough with the case…but the botched part could have been the showed up at the wrong address part, not the wrongful death, coverup, and suborning perjury part.
It leaves reason to doubt that the paper wants to report things fully, though.
February 25th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
karrde: You are correct that you are not familiar enough with the case. They showed up at the house that was on the warrant because they wrote the warrant. They were told by another informant that she had a lot of pain-killer pills. The ‘botched’ part is only there because it implies they made a mistake and it was reported.
February 25th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
This was a death penalty case. The sentences are as much a crime as Kathryn Johnston’s murder was. That prosecutor and judge need to be thrown out.
February 25th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Ok, I’ll reserve judgment on the judge since I don’t know how much deference he is required to pay to a plea-bargain under Georgia’s laws.
February 25th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
nk: This was Federal (I think the usual violation of civil rights), the locals were reported to have deliberately botched the state prosecution.
Our host: “some police officers”?
Perhaps, but it’s very rare for any of the rest of them to turn in those few “some”. It’s hard for me not to label the rest as complicit.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
It was reported initially that Kathryn Johnson struck three officers with four bullets (scoring a double on one of them), which had me wishing I could shoot that well NOW, and under CALM circumstances, let alone at 92 years old and under the ultimate pressure.
It was later revealed that most or all of the hits were ‘friendly fire’ incidents inflicted by fellow officers. The lesson here may just be that, in such a situation, it’s smarter to get the cops shooting first, and hope they run out of ammo and/or kill each other before they actually get to you.