It Gets Worse. Yes. Worse.By Radley BalkoThe Agitator Dec. 10, 2006 |
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![]() The credibility of the narcotics officers in the Johnston raid just took another hit: It was Fabian Sheats' third felony drug arrest in four months. But on the afternoon of Nov. 21, according to a police report, he was looking to curry favor, so he told officers they could find a kilogram of cocaine in a house at 933 Neal Street N.W.Just two hours passed between the time Sheats offered the tip and the time the police obtained the warrant. For us to believe what's written on that warrant, we would have to believe that police took Sheats' tip, called up White, brought him to the scene of the raid, had him conduct the buy, wrote up the warrants, got the magistrate's signature, assembled the raid team, then commenced the raid -- all in about three hours. I'm pretty convinced at this point that Mr. White is telling the truth. The pieces fit together like this: This raid was conducted based on nothing more than a tip from Sheats, a convicted drug felon who was looking for leniency. For whatever reason, he sent police to Johnston's home. The narcotics officers then hid behind the anonymity courts afford to informants, and fabricated the stuff about the buy. They took a shortcut. When the raid went bad, they chased down an informant they'd used in the past -- White -- and asked him to lie to cover their asses, just as White says they did. Even worse, it now looks like they were willing to intimidate him if he didn't cooperate. Consider this new wrinkle: A tape of a 911 call released Thursday added a strange twist to the ever-changing tragedy.Crazy. If this call can be authenticated as White, we now know why he came forward. He was scared to death. And he probably had every reason to be. It'll also be interesting to see if federal investigators can verify the conversation he says they had with him as he was getting into the APD patrol car. And if so? Holy crap is shit going to go down in Atlanta. Police in the article try to dismiss the apparent lack of time between the tip and the raid, adding that officers can work through the details over the radio, meaning trips back and forth to the police station weren't necessary. Of course, even if that's true, the fact remains that police conducted this raid based on, at worst, a tip only from a convicted felon, and at best, on the word of a confidential informant they now say is a liar. There's simply no way this no-knock warrant should have been granted. Even if the slim window between tip and raid isn't enough to make us believe the informant over the narcotics officers it still makes the cops look pretty bad. It shows that they did no corroborating investigation whatsoever before breaking down this woman's door. There was no kilo of cocaine. There were no security cameras. Of course, given that Officer Tesler has already been implicated in lying about a traffic accident he caused, and that the APD itself also lied early on about an undercover detective conducting the buy that led to the raid, the public would be wise to take everything Atlanta police say at this point with a heaping fistful of salt. |