Congress Scrutinizes the Use of Informants in Drug Law Enforcement Following Accidental Shooting of 92-Year-Old Woman (7/19/2007)
Blind Trust in the Informant System is
Dangerous, Say Civil Rights Advocates and Members of Congress
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: media@dcaclu.org
WASHINGTON – The House Judiciary Committee
held hearings today to examine the dangers of the informant system as used in
drug law enforcement. Today’s hearing was prompted by the tragic death of a
92-year-old Atlanta woman, Kathryn Johnston, who was shot
during a botched SWAT raid of her home. The raid was based on information
fabricated by police, who falsely attributed the misinformation to a
confidential informant. Civil rights advocates and members of Congress called
for an overhaul of the informant system, instituting oversight mechanisms and
safeguards to prevent future injustices.
“The informant system is a ticking time bomb in need of
immediate reform. Ms. Johnston’s death has sounded the alarm: we’ve handed over
too much police work to informants,” said Jesselyn McCurdy, legislative counsel at the ACLU Washington Legislative
Office. “Informants can be useful tools for law enforcement, but there
must be oversight and regulation of their use if our system of justice is to
live up to its name.”
In November 2006, Atlanta police conducted a
paramilitary-style raid of Ms. Johnston’s home based on information of suspected
drug activity at her address. Fabricating information they claimed to come from
an informant, police improperly obtained a warrant for a “no-knock” raid that
allowed them to burst into Ms. Johnston’s home without warning. In the course of
an internal investigation conducted after the raid, two police officers admitted
to fabricating evidence in order to secure a warrant and pressuring an informant
to cover for their misconduct.
“The government’s use of criminal informants is largely
secretive, unregulated, and unaccountable,” said Alexandra Natapoff, J.D., a
professor at Loyola Law
School, in her testimony
before the committee. “This is especially true in connection with street crime
and urban drug enforcement. This lack of oversight and quality-control leads to
wrongful convictions, more crime, disrespect for the law, and sometimes even
official corruption. At a minimum, we need more data on and better oversight of
this important public policy.”
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