A Fulton County grand jury indicted two Atlanta police officers for murder and a third for lesser crimes in the Thanksgiving Eve shooting of an elderly woman during a botched drug raid.
Officer Jason R. Smith is charged with 13 felonies, including four counts of felony murder, violation of an oath by a public officer, two counts of giving false statements, two counts of burglary and one count each of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment and perjury.
Officer Gregg Junnier, who has retired, is charged with three counts of felony murder, violation of oath by a public officer, criminal solicitation, two counts of burglary and one each of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and making a false statement. Junnier reportedly has struck a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to certain felonies.
The third, Officer Arthur Tesler, is charged only with three felony counts involving making false statements. Tesler, with eight months on the job, has vowed to fight charges against him.
The three offices were among a team of eight narcotics officers who raided Kathryn Johnston's home Nov. 21 hoping to get a cache of cocaine. They are accused of lying to get a warrant to get into the home. All eight were placed on administrative leave pending the investigation.
And deservedly so, though I'm not sure if the indictments will help put an end to this sort of thing.
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