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San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- General
- San Francisco Chronicle
Judge dismisses murder charges against Atlanta officer in 2019 shooting of unarmed man in closet
ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge has thrown out murder charges against a former Atlanta police officer who shot and killed an unarmed man hiding in a closet. U.S. District Judge Michael Brown ruled Tuesday that Sung Kim, a 26-year veteran of the Atlanta police department, acted in self defense and shouldn't face charges in the 2019 killing of 21-year-old Jimmy Atchison. 'The evidence for self-defense is so overwhelming it is hard to understand how Georgia could have brought these charges in the first place, much less continued with them over the two-and-a-half years since," Brown wrote in his ruling. 'Defendant's shooting of Mr. Atchison was textbook self-defense.' Kim was indicted in state court in 2022, but moved his case to federal court because he was assigned to an FBI fugitive task force when the shooting happened and thus was a federal officer. Atlanta activists have cited Atchison's death as an example of unjustified police violence against Black people. His name was often chanted by Atlanta protesters during Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020. The shooting also sparked policy changes. The Atlanta Police Department withdrew its officers from federal task forces because task force members weren't allowed to wear body cameras, meaning there is no video of Atchison's shooting. Officers returned after federal agencies began allowing local task force officers to wear cameras. Atchison was killed on Jan. 22, 2019, after Kim and other task force members tried to arrest him on charges that he stole a woman's purse and cellphone in an armed robbery. Kim retired from the Atlanta Police Department several months later. A Fulton County grand jury indicted Kim on charges that included felony murder and involuntary manslaughter. Officers forced their way into an apartment, prompting Atchison to jump out of a window, run through a second building and hide beneath a mound of clothes in a closet in another apartment. In his ruling, Brown rejected claims by a state witness that officers violated generally accepted police practices by entering the other apartment and the bedroom where Atchison was hiding. Testimony showed Kim shot Atchison in the face after Kim either yelled for Atchison to not move or show his hands. Atchison suddenly moved his hands from under the clothes. Family members say Atchison was raising his hands to surrender when Kim shot him in the face. Kim and other officers testified that they believed Atchison's move was threatening, as if he had a gun. Brown ruled that fear was reasonable and justified a shooting in self-defense. 'Nothing required defendant to hold off shooting until he literally saw a gun in Mr. Atchison's hand,' the judge wrote. 'He had a reasonable belief Mr. Atchison was armed and was going to shoot him. That is all that matters.' Nabika Atchison, Jimmy Atchison's sister, said in a statement that relatives are 'deeply disappointed' by Brown's decision, 'but with today's climate surrounding police brutality, I can't say we are surprised.' Tanya Miller, a Democratic state House member and lawyer representing the Atchison family, said the decision is a 'painful subversion of justice.' 'This decision underscores the troubling gap in accountability when local officers operate on federal task forces — a no-man's land where they can violate their own department's policies, the Constitution, take a young life, and still avoid standing trial,' Miller wrote in a text message. Don Samuel, a lawyer for Kim, said via email that the ruling was correct. 'It is hard to celebrate when a young man died," Samuel wrote, "but there is no doubt that the decision of the Fulton County DA's office to compound the tragedy by prosecuting Sung Kim was an inexcusable abuse of prosecutorial discretion." The Georgia state conference of the NAACP called on Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to appeal the ruling, saying it unjustly shields officers from accountability when they kill unarmed people. 'This ruling is not just a blow to the Atchison family's pursuit of justice — it's a threat to civil rights and public safety across the nation,' said Gerald Griggs, president of the Georgia NAACP.
an hour ago
- General
Judge dismisses murder charges against officer in shooting of unarmed man in closet
ATLANTA -- A federal judge has thrown out murder charges against a former Atlanta police officer who shot and killed an unarmed man hiding in a closet. U.S. District Judge Michael Brown ruled Tuesday that Sung Kim, a 26-year veteran of the Atlanta police department, acted in self defense and shouldn't face charges in the 2019 killing of 21-year-old Jimmy Atchison. 'The evidence for self-defense is so overwhelming it is hard to understand how Georgia could have brought these charges in the first place, much less continued with them over the two-and-a-half years since," Brown wrote in his ruling. 'Defendant's shooting of Mr. Atchison was textbook self-defense.' Kim was indicted in state court in 2022, but moved his case to federal court because he was assigned to an FBI fugitive task force when the shooting happened and thus was a federal officer. Atlanta activists have cited Atchison's death as an example of unjustified police violence against Black people. His name was often chanted by Atlanta protesters during Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020. The shooting also sparked policy changes. The Atlanta Police Department withdrew its officers from federal task forces because task force members weren't allowed to wear body cameras, meaning there is no video of Atchison's shooting. Officers returned after federal agencies began allowing local task force officers to wear cameras. Atchison was killed on Jan. 22, 2019, after Kim and other task force members tried to arrest him on charges that he stole a woman's purse and cellphone in an armed robbery. Kim retired from the Atlanta Police Department several months later. A Fulton County grand jury indicted Kim on charges that included felony murder and involuntary manslaughter. Officers forced their way into an apartment, prompting Atchison to jump out of a window, run through a second building and hide beneath a mound of clothes in a closet in another apartment. In his ruling, Brown rejected claims by a state witness that officers violated generally accepted police practices by entering the other apartment and the bedroom where Atchison was hiding. Testimony showed Kim shot Atchison in the face after Kim either yelled for Atchison to not move or show his hands. Atchison suddenly moved his hands from under the clothes. Family members say Atchison was raising his hands to surrender when Kim shot him in the face. Kim and other officers testified that they believed Atchison's move was threatening, as if he had a gun. Brown ruled that fear was reasonable and justified a shooting in self-defense. 'Nothing required defendant to hold off shooting until he literally saw a gun in Mr. Atchison's hand,' the judge wrote. 'He had a reasonable belief Mr. Atchison was armed and was going to shoot him. That is all that matters.' Nabika Atchison, Jimmy Atchison's sister, said in a statement that relatives are 'deeply disappointed' by Brown's decision, 'but with today's climate surrounding police brutality, I can't say we are surprised.' Tanya Miller, a Democratic state House member and lawyer representing the Atchison family, said the decision is a 'painful subversion of justice.' 'This decision underscores the troubling gap in accountability when local officers operate on federal task forces — a no-man's land where they can violate their own department's policies, the Constitution, take a young life, and still avoid standing trial,' Miller wrote in a text message. Don Samuel, a lawyer for Kim, said via email that the ruling was correct. 'It is hard to celebrate when a young man died," Samuel wrote, "but there is no doubt that the decision of the Fulton County DA's office to compound the tragedy by prosecuting Sung Kim was an inexcusable abuse of prosecutorial discretion." The Georgia state conference of the NAACP called on Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to appeal the ruling, saying it unjustly shields officers from accountability when they kill unarmed people. 'This ruling is not just a blow to the Atchison family's pursuit of justice — it's a threat to civil rights and public safety across the nation,' said Gerald Griggs, president of the Georgia NAACP.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Judge dismisses murder charges against Atlanta officer in 2019 shooting of unarmed man in closet
ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge has thrown out murder charges against a former Atlanta police officer who shot and killed an unarmed man hiding in a closet. U.S. District Judge Michael Brown ruled Tuesday that Sung Kim, a 26-year veteran of the Atlanta police department, acted in self defense and shouldn't face charges in the 2019 killing of 21-year-old Jimmy Atchison. 'The evidence for self-defense is so overwhelming it is hard to understand how Georgia could have brought these charges in the first place, much less continued with them over the two-and-a-half years since," Brown wrote in his ruling. 'Defendant's shooting of Mr. Atchison was textbook self-defense.' Kim was indicted in state court in 2022, but moved his case to federal court because he was assigned to an FBI fugitive task force when the shooting happened and thus was a federal officer. Atlanta activists have cited Atchison's death as an example of unjustified police violence against Black people. His name was often chanted by Atlanta protesters during Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020. The shooting also sparked policy changes. The Atlanta Police Department withdrew its officers from federal task forces because task force members weren't allowed to wear body cameras, meaning there is no video of Atchison's shooting. Officers returned after federal agencies began allowing local task force officers to wear cameras. Atchison was killed on Jan. 22, 2019, after Kim and other task force members tried to arrest him on charges that he stole a woman's purse and cellphone in an armed robbery. Kim retired from the Atlanta Police Department several months later. A Fulton County grand jury indicted Kim on charges that included felony murder and involuntary manslaughter. Officers forced their way into an apartment, prompting Atchison to jump out of a window, run through a second building and hide beneath a mound of clothes in a closet in another apartment. In his ruling, Brown rejected claims by a state witness that officers violated generally accepted police practices by entering the other apartment and the bedroom where Atchison was hiding. Testimony showed Kim shot Atchison in the face after Kim either yelled for Atchison to not move or show his hands. Atchison suddenly moved his hands from under the clothes. Family members say Atchison was raising his hands to surrender when Kim shot him in the face. Kim and other officers testified that they believed Atchison's move was threatening, as if he had a gun. Brown ruled that fear was reasonable and justified a shooting in self-defense. 'Nothing required defendant to hold off shooting until he literally saw a gun in Mr. Atchison's hand,' the judge wrote. 'He had a reasonable belief Mr. Atchison was armed and was going to shoot him. That is all that matters.' Nabika Atchison, Jimmy Atchison's sister, said in a statement that relatives are 'deeply disappointed' by Brown's decision, 'but with today's climate surrounding police brutality, I can't say we are surprised.' Tanya Miller, a Democratic state House member and lawyer representing the Atchison family, said the decision is a 'painful subversion of justice.' 'This decision underscores the troubling gap in accountability when local officers operate on federal task forces — a no-man's land where they can violate their own department's policies, the Constitution, take a young life, and still avoid standing trial,' Miller wrote in a text message. Don Samuel, a lawyer for Kim, said via email that the ruling was correct. 'It is hard to celebrate when a young man died," Samuel wrote, "but there is no doubt that the decision of the Fulton County DA's office to compound the tragedy by prosecuting Sung Kim was an inexcusable abuse of prosecutorial discretion." The Georgia state conference of the NAACP called on Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to appeal the ruling, saying it unjustly shields officers from accountability when they kill unarmed people. 'This ruling is not just a blow to the Atchison family's pursuit of justice — it's a threat to civil rights and public safety across the nation,' said Gerald Griggs, president of the Georgia NAACP.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Judge dismisses murder charges against Atlanta officer in 2019 shooting of unarmed man in closet
ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge has thrown out murder charges against a former Atlanta police officer who shot and killed an unarmed man hiding in a closet. U.S. District Judge Michael Brown ruled Tuesday that Sung Kim, a 26-year veteran of the Atlanta police department, acted in self defense and shouldn't face charges in the 2019 killing of 21-year-old Jimmy Atchison. 'The evidence for self-defense is so overwhelming it is hard to understand how Georgia could have brought these charges in the first place, much less continued with them over the two-and-a-half years since,' Brown wrote in his ruling. 'Defendant's shooting of Mr. Atchison was textbook self-defense.' Kim was indicted in state court in 2022, but moved his case to federal court because he was assigned to an FBI fugitive task force when the shooting happened and thus was a federal officer. Atlanta activists have cited Atchison's death as an example of unjustified police violence against Black people. His name was often chanted by Atlanta protesters during Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020. The shooting also sparked policy changes. The Atlanta Police Department withdrew its officers from federal task forces because task force members weren't allowed to wear body cameras, meaning there is no video of Atchison's shooting. Officers returned after federal agencies began allowing local task force officers to wear cameras. Atchison was killed on Jan. 22, 2019, after Kim and other task force members tried to arrest him on charges that he stole a woman's purse and cellphone in an armed robbery. Kim retired from the Atlanta Police Department several months later. A Fulton County grand jury indicted Kim on charges that included felony murder and involuntary manslaughter. Officers forced their way into an apartment, prompting Atchison to jump out of a window, run through a second building and hide beneath a mound of clothes in a closet in another apartment. In his ruling, Brown rejected claims by a state witness that officers violated generally accepted police practices by entering the other apartment and the bedroom where Atchison was hiding. Testimony showed Kim shot Atchison in the face after Kim either yelled for Atchison to not move or show his hands. Atchison suddenly moved his hands from under the clothes. Family members say Atchison was raising his hands to surrender when Kim shot him in the face. Kim and other officers testified that they believed Atchison's move was threatening, as if he had a gun. Brown ruled that fear was reasonable and justified a shooting in self-defense. 'Nothing required defendant to hold off shooting until he literally saw a gun in Mr. Atchison's hand,' the judge wrote. 'He had a reasonable belief Mr. Atchison was armed and was going to shoot him. That is all that matters.' Nabika Atchison, Jimmy Atchison's sister, said in a statement that relatives are 'deeply disappointed' by Brown's decision, 'but with today's climate surrounding police brutality, I can't say we are surprised.' Tanya Miller, a Democratic state House member and lawyer representing the Atchison family, said the decision is a 'painful subversion of justice.' 'This decision underscores the troubling gap in accountability when local officers operate on federal task forces — a no-man's land where they can violate their own department's policies, the Constitution, take a young life, and still avoid standing trial,' Miller wrote in a text message. Don Samuel, a lawyer for Kim, said via email that the ruling was correct. 'It is hard to celebrate when a young man died,' Samuel wrote, 'but there is no doubt that the decision of the Fulton County DA's office to compound the tragedy by prosecuting Sung Kim was an inexcusable abuse of prosecutorial discretion.' The Georgia state conference of the NAACP called on Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to appeal the ruling, saying it unjustly shields officers from accountability when they kill unarmed people. 'This ruling is not just a blow to the Atchison family's pursuit of justice — it's a threat to civil rights and public safety across the nation,' said Gerald Griggs, president of the Georgia NAACP.
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Arrest in April deadly double shooting in southwest Atlanta
The Brief Desmond Felts, 24, was arrested and charged with murder, aggravated assault, and armed robbery related to a fatal double shooting in Atlanta on April 18. The shooting resulted in one man's death and another critically injured; surveillance images of suspects were released to aid the investigation. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers Atlanta, with a reward of up to $5,000 offered for information. ATLANTA - A man wanted in connection with a fatal double shooting in southwest Atlanta has been arrested. SEE ALSO: 1 man dead, 1 critically injured in shooting at SW Atlanta home What we know Desmond Felts, 24, was taken into custody at the Clayton County Jail on June 1 and charged with murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of armed robbery, according to the Atlanta Police Department. The backstory The charges stem from an April 18 shooting that left one man dead and another critically injured. Officers responded to 70 Newcastle Street SW around 12:17 a.m. that morning after receiving reports of a person shot. When they arrived, they found a 33-year-old man unresponsive with a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical personnel. A second victim, a 32-year-old man, was found nearby with multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in critical but stable condition. What we don't know Investigators released surveillance images of the individuals believed to have been involved. One was seen wearing a T-shirt that says "In Draco We Trust." The other was described as having dread-style hair and wearing a knee-length jacket. SEE ALSO: Police searching for 2 suspects in deadly shooting at SW Atlanta home What they're saying Tips can be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-TIPS (8477), online at or by texting "CSA" and the tip to CRIMES (274637). A reward of up to $5,000 is available. The Source The Atlanta Police Department provided the details for this article.
