Dirty police officers will break the law to make an arrest when they really need one.
Credit: George Mathis
Credit: George Mathis
That theory is fueled by incidents like the one that killed 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston during an illegal raid of her home by Atlanta narcotics officers. Police used a confidential informant who lied about drugs being sold in the home. An investigation proved Atlanta police officers lied and falsified documents. One Atlanta police officer admitted to planting bags of marijuana in Johnston's home after she was shot to death.
No one died in Walton County when police pulled over motorist Renee Jones for failure to maintain her lane, but deputies did find cocaine and marijuana in her car.
District Attorney Layla Zon recently declined to prosecute Jones because the drugs were placed in the car by a confidential informant, reports Atlanta TV station CBS46.
The informant wrote a letter to deputies demanding payment for his work, according to an internal investigation.
"Your dirty deputies gave me drugs (cocaine & weed) to give her. They set her up!!!!" wrote the unnamed informant, according to the CBS46 report.
David Boyle, the attorney who represents Jones, says it seems like "they're planting evidence on somebody."
“What they did is find a confidential informant who they then gave drugs to, marijuana and cocaine, and they sent that person to go meet with Mrs. Jones and to give her the drugs,” Boyle said.
The TV station has reported 457 people were pulled over in Walton County for having tinted windows while officers in neighboring east Georgia counties pulled over less than 30.
Walton County Sheriff Joe Chapman says no laws were broken and the DA agrees.
Jones' attorney thinks otherwise.
"They are essentially manufacturing the crime in terms of providing the drugs and then arresting the person. In my mind, that seems completely illegal," Boyle said. "I've never seen a case in which the police are arresting somebody after giving them drugs. There is no sale of the drugs, there is no purchase of the drugs."
You might want to avoid Walton County, even though they do have a pretty cool 'American Sniper' corn maze.
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