Atlanta Police, Community Try to Make Amends

Chief Pennington,
APD Officers deserve better. You created a citizens review board in direct opposition to the police union and ordered officers to participate. You cave to political wishes and throw your officers to the wolves.

Citizens review boards should be set up in every city nationwide, both small and large. The police have far too much authority, and they keep forgetting exactly who they work for. It is time that the people absolutely demand accountability from law enforcement, and it is time to hold the police both civilly and criminally liable when they violate the rights of the people, assault, try to intimidate, harass or threaten citizens.

A citizens review board which has real teeth--and which even has the ability to send cases of police abuse to the grand jury would be a great thing--it would show the police that they are answerable for their actions, and would help hold them accountable for mistreating the people.

Police review boards should be set up in every city nationwide, both small and large. The citizens have far too much attitude and stupidity, and they keep forgetting exactly what is required of them. It is time that law enforcement absolutely demand accountability from citizens, and it is time to hold citizens both civilly and criminally liable when they assault, try to intimidate, harass or threaten police officers.

A police review board which has real teeth--and which even has the ability to send cases of citizens abuse and law breaking to the grand jury would be a great thing--it would show the citizens that they are answerable (not a word by the way) for their actions, and would help hold them accountable for mistreating the police.

Priceless J-2, priceless. Everyone likes to talk about their rights, nobody likes to talk about their responsibilities.

The Chief had to replace the WHOLE APD narcotics division. The officers that murdered Johnston are rightfully in prison. This article describes the raid as "botched." How about illegal? How about a responsibility to not lie to obtain a warrant? How about a responsibility to not lie about a drug buy at a grandmother's house to obtain an illegal warrant? How about a responsibility to not plant evidence to arrest someone who you can then force to become a CI to obtain an illegal warrant? Then how about a responsibility to then not intimidate that same CI to lie about what happened after the grandmother was shot? How about a responsibility to not let a 92-yr old woman bleed out on the floor of her home while you plant two bags of pot in her basement? How about the whole narcotics division's responsiblity not to MISTAKENLY raid the grandmother, the grandmother's next door neighbor and another elderly woman in the same neighborhood in the same year in search of drugs? The narcotics division was so corrupt that the three officers immediately after shooting Johnston, commenced a cover-up. What are the chances that the three officers were the ONLY corrupt officers in the narc squad, and the rest of the narcs were virgin pure, and it was a coincidence that those three were working together on that raid? All the mistaken raids and planted eveidence prior to the Johnston murder, and of course, the APD was doing a great job policing its own; no civilian oversight necessary. FBI seemed to think the APD needed some oversight.

I disagree with the Civilian Review board and their real teeth comment. Civilians *unless they are prior service* have no idea what its like to walk a shift in our shoes. These same civilians rely on the police to do the dirty work so they don't have to see it and most are truly ignorant about what happens in their town. I do appreciate civilians "being my boss" but I live where I work too, and yes I pay taxes too, and yes that makes me my own boss. I enjoy doing my job in law enforcement because I know i'm working to make my hometown better. A civilian oversight board will monday morning quarterback every decision that comes through without ever having the danger of being a LEO. When stuff like the APD junk happens, its the responsibility of the Justice Dept and the GBI to investigate it. Do I agree with this type of behavior? Absolutely not. But..instead of a knee-jerk reaction of creating these review boards, look at the real problem such as obviously a failure in background checks in the recruitment process or a Professional Standards Unit that tries to squash this stuff out..

And the liability comment? Get real..there is all sorts of liability in law enforcement as is..I can't count how many times i'll be "named in a lawsuit." I'm still waiting for the paperwork..

I agree with J2..Maybe law enforcement should show its teeth a little more and abandon this Community Oriented Policing junk that we are forced to do and regain some of the respect that we once had. Maybe its time for less restrictive policies that baby the public so we can get out here and actually enforce the law instead of this candy coated bull*censored* we are forced to do now.

Spare the rod, spoil the child..

Thank you for proving my point.

Sjanc,
I have been reading your posts for months. It is becoming clearer to me every time that you really know very little about police work. You make wild allegations and comments that have no basis in fact. That's one reason that I, after 33 years of carrying a badge and faithfully serving and protecting, have not given much credibility to anything you say.(And in case you were wondering, I have never planted evidence, lied in court, or carried a throw away gun). But guess what ? I'll defend to the death your right to say it.

Not for nothing.....crazy F--ked up story!.....should these cops be singin the blues...oh yeah. But all this negativity to all LE across america?.....All the bad stuff that cops do is posted and highlighted, the good stuff...not so much. Bad apples in every job...no doubt about it. Some cops do some dumb stuff......some...., those are the tools that fall through the cracks of the hiring process.....these are the guys that other cops dont even like. I know that most cops do this job for the right reason. Cops carrying dope and guns to plant on suspects?.....has it happened...sure has. But do you seriously think all cops want to lock a guy up so bad that he is willing to risk his integrity...freedom....job....house..cars..toys...etc....??.......to most cops, if you dont have what you need to make the collar, then have a nice big boy....amazing.

I personally like having my freedom too much and enjoy my property that i've worked 2 jobs to obtain too much to plant a throw down gun or dope on someone. People pretty much give themselves by doing something stupid to grab the attention of law enforcement. As for the other comments on here..i'll take it that the anti-law posters probably didn't make it past the exam in the hiring process.

I have never planted a weapon, dope, or lied to get a conviction. I have had people walk from charges before because there was a reasonable doubt in some jurors mind. That was fine with me though, it just makes me sharpen my skills. As far as why I do the job, it makes me happy and its a true joy to get to do what I always dreamed of doing for a living. The hours and benefits suck and I miss out on a lot with my family, but I knew it would be this way when I took the oath so i'm ok with it. I haven't ever violated my oath of public office nor have I ever done anything to tarnish my badge. Yes, some of us out here truly wants to help because we believe in people and want to either make or keep our communities safe.

The anti-law enforcement postings on here bother me because you have people that just come here and anonymously submit ignorant article comments. I hope you see the light one day. I'm not trying to justify these actions by the ATL Narcotics unit because it can't be justified. These guys were bad apples and there is really no telling how many times stuff like this happened but slipped through the cracks. I hope the victims of that receive the proper credit and reward.

As for the rest of you guys (actual LEOs) out there, be safe and watch your 6.