Kathryn Johnston shooting

Kathryn Johnston (June 26, 1914 – November 21, 2006) was an elderly woman from Atlanta, Georgia, who was killed by undercover police officers in her home on Neal Street in northwest Atlanta on November 21, 2006, where she had lived for 17 years. Three officers had entered her home in what was later described as a 'botched' drug raid. Police said Johnston fired at them and they fired in response; she fired one shot out the door over the officers' heads and they fired 39 shots, five or six of which hit her. Later investigations found that the paperwork stating that drugs were present at Johnston's house, which had been the basis for the raid, had been falsified. announced themselves after opening the door but before entering the house, according to police. Police injuries sustained in the raid were from bullets not fired from Johnston's gun. Prosecutors accused one of the officers of planting three bags of marijuana in the house as an attempted cover-up after no drugs were found in the house.

As justification for the no-knock warrant, the Atlanta Police Department initially claimed that the police were searching for drug dealers after a police informant was said to have bought crack at Johnston's home. The Rev. Markel Hutchins, acting as spokesman for Johnston's family, said her family members were "stunned and disappointed" by the announcement of the indictments because they believed it will disrupt a larger federal investigation of civil rights violations by the Atlanta Police Department.

The federal probe into the police department revealed that Atlanta police routinely lied to obtain search warrants, including often falsifying affidavits. The police sergeant in charge of the narcotics unit also pleaded guilty to charges surrounding the shooting, and another officer admitted to extortion. All three ex-officers pleaded guilty to "conspiracy to violate civil rights resulting in death."

On February 24, 2009, U.S. District Judge Julie E. Carnes sentenced former officer Gregg Junnier to six years in prison, Jason Smith to 10 years in prison and Arthur Tesler to five years in prison. According to U.S. Attorney David Nahmias, the sentences of Junnier and Smith were reduced after they provided information to assist in the prosecutions of the other ex-officers.

Allegations of widespread misconduct in the Atlanta Police Department came under state and federal investigation after Johnston's shooting.

In 2019, the Kathryn Johnston Memorial Park, named in honor of Johnston, was opened in English Avenue, near where Johnston had lived.

Johnston's death inspired John Gordon, a businessman from the Buckhead community of Atlanta to found a nonprofit organization,Friends of English Avenue, which is dedicated to improve the quality of life of the residents through green-space development, public safety initiatives and mentoring programs in service of Johnston's legacy. As of 2019, both crime and the gap between the community and the police has been reduced with the city's initiative to have Atlanta Police officers live rent-free in homes in the area. Lawsuits One year after the shooting, Johnston's family sued the city of Atlanta, the police chief, and five other officers, accusing them of false imprisonment, civil rights violations, racketeering, and other violations.

Rev. Markel Hutchins, who according to pleadings filed, "served as the Estate/Family Spokesman; principal strategist and issue manager" during the pendency of the suit against the City of Atlanta, filed a lawsuit against Dozier in August 2011 in order to enforce a $490,000 consulting fee he claims he is owed for his efforts "that made the significant settlement possible." The lawsuit was settled in 2013 for an undisclosed amount with all parties agreeing to secrecy.

In popular culture Ohio rappers Bone Thugs-n-Harmony featured audio footage from the scene of protests over the shooting in their song "My Street Blues". Shawn Mullins, a singer/songwriter from Atlanta, wrote and dedicated a song to Kathryn Johnston called "The Ballad of Kathryn Johnston" on his album Honeydew. Atlanta-based rapper Killer Mike referenced the killing in his 2008 song "Pressure", rapping: "If another old lady die in this city/swear to god we'll burn down the fuckin' city". He also cited again the incident alongside the Sean Bell shooting in his 2012 song "Anywhere But Here", rapping: "They raided a house, no drugs were ever found/But a black grandmother laid killed". California rapper Daz Dillinger of Tha Dogg Pound mentioned the shooting in their song "No Mo Police Brutality". David Banner, a rapper and producer from Mississippi, discusses the shooting in his song, "So Long." "Ms. Kathryn Johnston was murdered by police / In Northwest Atlanta, but I don't hear it in the streets." The full verse describes more details of the event.