ATLANTA — A relative of a 92-year-old woman killed in police raid in Atlanta on Friday asked a federal judge to sanction the city for withholding documents in a wrongful death lawsuit.
"Such evasion and misconduct makes a mockery of the truth-finding process that is at the heart of the judicial system and must be severely punished," said Kathryn Johnston's niece, Sarah Dozier, in a motion.
Acting city attorney Roger Bhadari told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the city is reviewing the motion and "will respond accordingly." He said the city has no further comment.
Dozier filed suit against the city and the police department in 2007 after Johnston was killed in 2006 by officers who banged down her door after obtaining an illegal, no-knock search warrant. After Johnston, who thought criminals were at the door, fired a shot, the narcotics officers shot back, killing her.
Three former city police officers were sentenced to prison in February for their roles in the incident.
Dozier's lawsuit says an Atlanta Police Department quota system let to Johnston's death. The suit claims narcotics officers lied on a search warrant to meet their arrest and warrant quotas.
The family's lawyers have asked police to turn over any documents about the quota system. The department has said none exist and Chief Richard Pennington said in pretrial testimony that they didn't exist, according to the motion.
But the motion says Dozier's lawyers got copies of documents that prove the quota existed from Sgt. Scott Kreher, the head of an Atlanta police union, who got the documents from anonymous sources. And officers verified their authenticity in pretrial testimony, the motion says.
The motion asks Senior U.S. District Court Judge Marvin Shoob to enter a default judgment. That means no trial would be necessary to determine whether the Atlanta Police Department was liable in Johnston's death, and it would simply be a matter of figuring out how much the city would pay in damages, the Journal-Constitution reported.
___
Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com
Local News
<img src="http://valdosta.sgaonline.com/headlines/9.gif"/> Niece of woman killed in raid wants city to pay
- Local News
-
-
Graduation Day
- ABAC offering ACCEL classes at TCHS this fall
-
Beryl threatens rain, winds on southeast US coast
Subtropical storm Beryl began moving faster toward an expected landfall Sunday night on the Southeast U.S. coast, threatening Memorial Day beachgoers with forecast conditions of dangerous surf and drenching rains from northeast Florida up through a swath of the Carolinas.
-
DAV marks Memorial Day with ceremony
Saturday marked the 32nd year of the Disabled American Veterans Memorial Day ceremony in Tifton, which was held that morning in the courtroom at the Tifton Police Department.
-
Ocilla men help with national Memorial Day project
Two Ocilla men, Dill Driscoll and Wes Conner, have had their walking shoes on this month.
- Tift Co. primary qualifying ends Friday
-
Ga. pardons board granting more medical reprieves
Faced with rising prison costs, Georgia corrections officials are releasing a growing number of sick and elderly inmates to save millions of dollars in medical spending.
- Tropical storm warnings for Southeast coast
-
Candidates qualify for upcoming election
Qualifying for Tift County’s Democratic and Republican primaries began Wednesday morning, and ended Friday afternoon.
-
Utley will not seek re-election
Dr. Shawn Utley, chairman of the Tift County Board of Education, has announced that he will not be seeking re-election.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
