Family of Johnny Bolton, Cobb man killed by police in no-knock raid, demand answers
May 26—About six months after an Austell man, Johnny Bolton, was killed by police in a no-knock drug raid, Bolton's family is demanding answers from law enforcement about what happened.
Bolton, who was 49, was killed by the Cobb County Sheriff's Office SWAT team during a pre-dawn raid in a Smyrna apartment last December, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
The case was turned over to the GBI, which completed its investigation and provided its findings to Cobb District Attorney Flynn Broady in mid-March, the GBI confirmed.
According to witness statements, Bolton was unarmed, asleep on a couch in the apartment when Marietta Cobb Smyrna (MCS) Organized Crime Task Force agents and Cobb County Sheriff's Office SWAT team deputies stormed the residence, Zack Greenamyre, a lawyer for Bolton's family, said at a Tuesday press conference.
According to Greenamyre, witnesses said Bolton stood up after police entered and was shot multiple times.
Bolton's family is asking for Owens to release all body cam footage of the incident and the name or names of police who shot Bolton.
"Instead of transparency, we've been met with silence," Greenamyre said. "Their actions to date in the aftermath of Johnny's death show they do not believe that Johnny's life mattered."
Scant details were released at the time of Bolton's killing. Bolton's sister and two children, who joined Greenamyre and lawyer Bill Atkins at the press conference, said they have privately contacted law enforcement but not been given answers.
"This family has calmly, quietly done everything what the law enforcement community across this country asks for — 'Be calm, wait, we'll get you answers, we will give you what you need.' ... Well, they don't. And they haven't," Atkins said.
Atkins slammed Cobb Sheriff Craig Owens in particular, saying Owens, Cobb's first Black sheriff, has failed to meet with Bolton's family after he "promised to change the way things would be done in Cobb County."
A spokesperson for Owens' office said the office has fully cooperated with the DA's office and GBI.
"Upon taking office, Sheriff Owens called for a review of all internal policies and procedures to ensure the Office follows best practices. ... Sheriff Owens remains committed to establishing a culture of truth, trust, and transparency between the public and the Cobb County Sheriff's Office," the statement says.
Owens' office also provided a copy of a May 7 letter sent to Greenamyre from the county attorney in response to a notice Greenamyre had filed that serves as the first step in pursuing personal injury claims against governments.
Assistant County Attorney Lauren Bruce wrote that "we believe there are several material inaccuracies" in Greenamyre's notice before acknowledging the claims could not be fully evaluated until presented to a grand jury.
The DA's office said that Broady will present the case to a grand jury. Broady also extended his condolences in the statement and said he will meet with Bolton's family.
"To maintain the integrity of this investigation, we will not make any other statements prior to the presentment," the DA's office said.
Bolton, Greenamyre said, worked at a nearby car wash and liked to make music.
The lawyers for Bolton's family also said the apartment was an "informal boarding house," with two bedrooms rented out to women and their children. Bolton was sleeping on the couch there but was not officially renting the unit.
Bolton had previously been convicted on marijuana and cocaine possession and distribution charges and served jail time from 1999 to 2001, 2003 to 2006 and a six-month stint in 2010, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. The no-knock warrant, which listed three targets of the investigation, does not mention Bolton.
The warrant states the MCS unit had surveilled the apartment, located at 5050 Springbrook Trail, unit 505, in Smyrna. They also interviewed witnesses and used informants to conclude that it was being used to sell drugs. The no-knock provision was granted because giving verbal notice before entering would have "increase(d) the peril to officers" and led to the "destruction of evidence sought."
No-knock warrants have come under scrutiny in recent years by critics who say they endanger officers and the people who are being raided. Occupants may be confused, not able to see and don't realize they are being raided by police, leading to the exchange of gunfire, critics say.
The press conference was called on the one-year anniversary of the death of George Floyd.
"I stand here today having to do this, another family having to do this," said Bolton's sister, Daphne Bolton, at the press conference. "We are here today to say — Johhny Lorenzo Bolton, my brother, the only brother that I had, won't be covered up."
