Monday, November 21, 2011
Photo of the Day Photo of the day: Anniversary Kathryn Johnston shooting
Posted by Joeff Davis @joeffly on Mon, Nov 21, 2011 at 4:35 PM
- Joeff Davis
- Today is the fifth anniversary of Kathryn Johnston's killing by Atlanta police. A mural, and a shrine of stuffed animals and flowers decorate the vacant Atlanta home where she lived and was killed.
Today is the fifth anniversary of the murder of Kathryn Johnston. On November 21, 2006, Atlanta police officers broke down the door of 92-year old Johnston's Neal Street home in Northwest Atlanta, and fired 39 shots at Johnston, killing her. Johnston, who believed her house was being broken into, had fired a single shot at the door. Atlanta police later admitted that after killing Johnston, they'd planted marijuana in her house and had submitted false paper work to get the "no knock" warrant that they used to justify breaking down her front door.
Four Atlanta police officers were sentenced to prison time for Johnston's shooting.
Tonight members of Occupy Atlanta and the Atlanta October 22nd Coalition will lead a march to mark the anniversary of Johnston's killing and “against the reckless and wanton police murders of fellow Atlantans,” they say in a press release. The press release also mentions the recent killing of Joetavius Stafford, the “seemingly unarmed” teenager who was shot by a MARTA police officer at the Vine City station in mid-October. Shortly after the death, MARTA officials claimed that Stafford was armed, but have yet to release evidence backing up these statements. Stafford’s brother Rodney was quoted in an 11 Alive report as saying that his brother had his hands up when he was shot. "I witnessed that he was shot in the back," Rodney Stafford said. "My little brother had his hands up, and they shot him in the back."
The march starts at Woodruff Park tonight at 8:30.
Comments (12)
Showing 1-12 of 12
Pretty coverage of the Stafford shooting by CL. You guys were all over that shit...
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Enough of the marches already! When is someone going to demand some accountability and responsibility from Atlanta City Government? I know they are black and democrat so they can't do nothing wrong but at the same time, you are marching about issues they are at fault for.
On the 5th anniversary of Mrs. Johnston's murder by the Atlanta Police Department some radicals marched against police/state violence: http://www.11alive.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=1288513722001
Flyer advertising march: http://i.imgur.com/WKTLT.jpg
Some text used to promote the action:
No more killer cops in our city!
Remember Kathryn Johnston.
Remember Joetavious Stafford.
In solidarity with all the arrestees at Occupy Chapel Hill, UC Berkeley/Davis, and Occupy Denver and with all prisoners and victims of state terror, everywhere.
Until every cage is empty!
They raid the dance parties of homosexuals and the barbeques of senior black communities in Edgewood Courts; they abuse demonstrators at Troy Davis Park; they kidnap immigrants to throw into federal internment camps; they harrass the communities of West End, College Park, Bankhead, and Summerhill; they evict home after home in East Point and elsewhere; they shot 92 year-old Kathryn Johnston in her home and 19 year old Joetavious Stafford on his way home from a homecoming football game.
There isn't a single day that goes by that a life isn't ruined, not a single person unaffected (remember the cop who dragged the woman out of the IHOP by her hair in Buckhead, of all places, not too long ago?), not a single convincing justification: the police have got to go.
In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, they draw AR-15's on an occupied social center and arrest journalists and occupiers: property, to them, is more important than people.
At Occupy Oakland and UC Berkeley, they beat protesters with clubs and shoot them with bean-bag guns: the true face of American democracy made plain.
In Cairo, Egypt, they beat people with pipes and knives from atop camels and horses: an American-funded dictatorship made explicit.
Everywhere, people are standing up to the police (the security guards of the 1%, the defenders of the ruling elite), and the system of exploitation and domination they defend
No Police! No KKK! No racist USA!
Why no protesting against the murderers, rapists, car jackers, home invaders, and general armed thuggery that goes on EVERY DAY in Atlanta? No, lets instead protest against 3 or 4 incidents (jury is still out on the Stafford incident) in the past 5 years that the cops have committed instead of the everyday thuggery that goes on in Atlanta. Makes sense to me!!!!
"Makes sense to me!!!!"
it makes sense to hold the police to the same moral standards as criminals?
i don't think you can understand the question i just asked you, so i won't expect a coherent response
Wow: do you think Atlantans are tacitly approving rape and murder because they aren't marching in the streets every day for it?
Are you tacitly endorsing sex with farm animals because you didn't denounce it in your comment?
Wow, you are trying to make sense to a bunch of people that think the cops are wrong in EVERYTHING. Considering the amount of interactions that the police have with people on a daily basis I don't understand the whole march thing either. The Johnston killing was tragic and most of the people responsible were convicted and are now doing time.....other than the person that instilled the quota for narcotics, he is now a deputy chief. But these idiots just pick on the low hanging fruit. Lets not go after the Judges that let these people go, or the DA the plea bargains his way through EVERYTHING!!!
Let OA go to Mrs. Johnson house alone, no police presence. Announce to the West End that there are iphone 4's macbooks, daddy's credit cards in purses and designer clothes about to march in their hood. Let's see who calls the cops first...
"police brutality is ok as long as black people exist" -the average CL commentor
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