TailOverTeaKettle.com

I have refrained on commenting on last week’s shooting death of Kathryn Johnston in Atlanta, because there just didn’t seem to be enough information released to the public in order to make an informed opinion. Yes, it was clear that the police were not targeting a 92 year old woman in their drug sting. And it certainly it made sense that after she opened fire on the officers after they burst through her front door, that they would return fire.

Did they have the wrong house? Was she just an innocent victim, but caught in the middle of events?

The whole story is still not clear… and I wonder if it will ever be sorted out completely, since it appears to take both GBI and FBI to now step in and try to unwind the mess. The Atlanta police appear to have been telling lies when the truth would serve them better.

If mistakes were made - even tragic mistakes - it would be better to admit to them and work through them. If it was not clear what the truth was… it would be better to say nothing than tell a story.

The day after the raid, the Atlanta police sent out Assistant Atlanta Police Chief Alan James Dreher to give a press conference. He confirmed that the correct house was entered. He stated that undercover officers bought illegal drugs earlier in the day from a man at house, and then returned that evening after securing a warrant to search the residence. He was also quick to point out that narcotics were found in the home after the shooting.

We subsequently heard about the mysterious man named “Sam”, the suspect in his early-to-mid-30s, and is described as a large man — 6 feet tall, and 250-to-260 pounds. A warrant was issued for his arrest. It was his drug sales, after all, that sparked the raid in the first place.

Atlanta’s Police Chief, Richard Pennington, was out of town for Thanksgiving, and could not return.

Then over the weekend, the public story started to change. Suddenly it was an “informant” who told the police about buying drugs at the house, not undercover officers themselves. Why hold a press conference earlier and say something that was obviously wrong?

Next, it was confirmed that a small amount of marijuana that was recovered - not a stash of drugs to be distributed.

Today the bombshell: the “informant”, now in protective custody, says that he didn’t buy drugs at the house and was told by police that he needed to affirm the whole “Sam” story in order to cover for them.

Now I have no idea who’s telling the truth. But it’s clear that when the police rushed out with their initial story, even they really did not have the facts. And in so doing, they have destroyed any credibility that they might have had.

Many questions remain, and hopefully the GBI and FBI will be more successful in collecting the answers. Why was this house targeted at all? Were the facts presented to get the warrant twisted as well?

But a terrible mistake is made even worse if they attempted to cover it up.