Three Years from Johnston Death, Civilian Board at a Crossroads ATLANTA, GA (WABE) - Saturday will mark three years since Atlanta police illegally raided the home of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston and killed her. Johnston's death outraged citizens, who clamored for a new civilian oversight body to probe allegations of police misconduct.

As WABE's Odette Yousef reports, the resulting Citizen Review Board is now at a crossroads, where its members are counting on the next mayor to help them establish credibility.

Officers lied to a judge to get a search warrant for Johnston's home. They shot her six times, handcuffed her, planted drugs in the house, and then tried to coerce a witness into telling their fabricated story. The event caused a deep breach of trust between police and citizens.

But looking at a room of empty chairs at the Citizen Review Board's meeting last week, it's hard to recall the anger of three years ago.

KIRSCHENBAUM: The next item is public comment and the only person here is from the press, and they don't usually make comments, so...

Vice Chairman Seth Kirschenbaum led the board's discussion of a police car chase in which a civilian died in a crash. Kirschenbaum posited that the officer violated standard operating procedure, because he didn't turn on his siren.

KIRSCHENBAUM: I'm concerned if we let this slide - assuming anybody listens to what we have to say - if we let this slide, then it's almost like...

It's not clear that anybody does listen to what the board has to say. The meetings generally have little-to-no audience, they're not broadcasted on the city channel, and the board's recommendations often go unheeded.

But to Board chair Roderick Edmond, that's not the most frustrating thing:

EDMOND: We've had multiple police officers come through. They're supposed to give their statement about what transpired in an allegation of police misconduct. And they've simply refused to answer questions.

The board has no disciplinary authority - it can only investigate allegations of police misconduct and issue recommendations.

Police Chief Richard Pennington recently directed officers to report to the board when asked, or face discipline. But the board wants Pennington to threaten discipline if officers refuse to testify. Their big hope is that Atlanta's next police chief will do that.

Pennington will leave at the end of Mayor Shirley Franklin's term, and the board hopes her successor will require the next chief to support their work.

In October, mayoral candidates Mary Norwood and Kasim Reed told WABE that they think the board is important.

NORWOOD: I am a big proponent of the Citizen Review Board. What we also have to have is a police chief who is engaged in the internal investigations.

REED: I believe the Citizen Review Board is going to have to be better-funded than it is today, it must have subpoena power, and more robust investigatory capabilities.

But some say the board has actually deepened the rift between police and the public.

ARCANGELI: To allow non-professionals to actually conduct investigations, I think that that goes around our constitutionally-defined checks and balances.

Lou Arcangeli is a retired Atlanta Deputy Police Chief and part-time professor at Georgia State University. He says the board, as it is now, puts police in an awkward position.

ARCANGELI: Now they're being interviewed or investigated by people who could have political motivations, could have personal mandates. It certainly erodes confidence in police officers that they are going to be treated fairly and professionally.

Arcangeli says there is a role for civilian oversight - but that it should focus on reviewing and refining department policy. He thinks the real work of restoring trust will fall to the new police chief, who should be more visible to the public, and transparent about the department's affairs.

Odette Yousef, WABE News.
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