Death of elderly woman killed in police shootout mourned

<p>Friends and family Tuesday mourned the death of an 88-year-old woman shot and killed during a shootout with plainsclothes narcotics officers who broke down the door of her home.</p><p>Kathryn Johnston was killed during the Nov. 21 shootout. Three officers also were wounded when they entered her home looking for cocaine based on tips from an informant, according to the police search warrant.</p><p>Some mourners at Tuesday's service said they won't feel at peace about Johnston's killing until police answer questions about why they believed drugs were being sold out of her house in Vine City _ a northwest Georgia neighborhood in the shadow of the Georgia Dome.</p><p>"I've always thought from the beginnning there was a mistake. Nobody wins in this situtation," said JoAnne Trawick, a niece.</p><p>Funeral home directors expect about 300 mourners.</p><p>Family spokesman Rev. Markel Hutchins said an informant's statements to reporters that police told him to lie gave Johnston's family hope that the truth about the fatal shooting will come out.</p><p>"They felt that the odds were stacked against them, but this has shown light into this darkness," Hutchins said.</p><p>Monday evening, WAGA-TV in Atlanta aired an interview with a man who said that he was the informant, and that he had never purchased drugs at Kathryn Johnston's home. The man, whose identity was obscured by the TV station, also said that police had asked him to lie about providing the information, but that that was before he knew the elderly woman had been killed in a shootout there.</p><p>Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington said Monday that the FBI will lead the investigation into the shootout. He said the informant is in protective custody and would be a key part of the investigation. Seven narcotics investigators and a police sergeant were placed on paid leave until the inquiry is complete.</p><p>Police said the informant told officers he had purchased drugs in the home earlier, prompting investigators to get a warrant. Pennington previously said it was unclear whether there had been a drug deal or whether the suspected drug dealer actually exists.</p><p>After the shooting, officers said they found marijuana inside the northwest Atlanta home, but the chief said it was not a large amount.</p><p>Police had a "no-knock" warrant, which are frequently used to get inside a home before suspects have a chance to get rid of drugs, said Pennington, adding that his department would review its policy on such warrants and its use of confidential informants.</p><p>Sarah Dozier, Johnston's niece, has said her aunt lived alone.</p><p>Johnston was described by neighbors and family as a woman living in fear in Vine City _ a northwest Atlanta neighborhood in the shadow of the Georgia Dome. There were burglar bars on her one-story brick home, and she rarely let friends and neighbors inside.</p>