A federal judge has dismissed all charges against Sung Kim, a former officer with the Atlanta Police Department, related to the controversial shooting of Jimmy Atchison in 2019.
Sung Kim was indicted in December 2022, facing serious charges such as felony murder, aggravated assault, involuntary manslaughter, and violation of oath.
However, Judge Michael L. Brown ruled that Kim was immune to some of these charges, citing federal supremacy principles, as he was acting in the capacity of a deputized federal officer during the incident.
Additionally, the judge determined that other charges against him were barred due to self-defense immunity principles.
The Georgia NAACP has expressed its discontent with the ruling, urging Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to appeal the decision.
In an official statement, the organization called the ruling a “deeply troubling decision,” asserting that such an outcome effectively provides a legal shield for federally deputized officers, even in cases where unarmed civilians are killed under questionable circumstances.
The DA’s Office has acknowledged the ruling and is in the process of reviewing it to consider their next steps.
In reflecting on the ruling, Kim’s attorney, Don Samuel, stated that it is “hard to celebrate when a young man died,” but he insisted that the actions taken by the Fulton County DA’s office in prosecuting Kim were an “inexcusable abuse of prosecutorial discretion.”
The fatal encounter had occurred during a law enforcement operation to serve a warrant related to armed robbery.
Atchison was found hiding in a closet after a foot chase through a building, and upon his discovery, Kim shot him in the face, sparking widespread outrage and calls for justice.
The judge reviewed the circumstances around the shooting, rejecting prosecutors’ arguments that the task force officers acted unreasonably.
Despite expert testimonies indicating that the officers did not adhere to “generally accepted practices,” Judge Brown ruled that the officers had consistently followed procedures they had been trained to execute.
The ruling reported that officers felt justified in their actions, even if external observers might view their behavior differently.
The Georgia NAACP emphasized that this case is broader than Atchison’s death—it revolves around ensuring equal accountability for law enforcement officials under the law, irrespective of their federal status.
In October 2019, the Atchison family met with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to discuss the findings from the inquiry into the incident.
During this meeting, they were informed that Atchison had received conflicting commands from officers present at the scene—being instructed to both come out with his hands up and not to move.
The family contended that Atchison had been following the instruction to exit the closet when he was shot.
The evidence illustrated that Atchison was unarmed and had been hiding under a pile of clothes when Kim encountered him.
Judge Brown’s ruling aligns with the family’s account of the inconsistent commands, stating that Kim yelled at Atchison to “show us your hands” while also simultaneously ordering him not to move.
Atchison reportedly responded to neither command and, at the moment the shooting occurred, moved his hands towards Kim’s face and chest area, leading Kim to believe he was armed.
Consequently, Kim fired his weapon, resulting in Atchison’s death.
Weighing Kim’s self-defense argument, Judge Brown concluded that Kim was entitled to self-defense immunity under Georgia law.
He cited various factors in his ruling, including that Atchison was wanted for armed robbery involving a firearm, had a history of prior arrests for armed robbery and aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer, and had taken significant steps to avoid being apprehended.
Other officers involved in the operation echoed Kim’s belief that Atchison could have posed a threat at the moment he moved his hands.
A Georgia expert witness noted that Atchison’s hand movement could be interpreted as a “deadly force stimulus,” asserting that a reasonable officer in Kim’s position would view it as such, ultimately commending Kim’s response.
In his order, Judge Brown expressed confusion over how Georgia could have pursued charges against Kim, emphasizing that the evidence overwhelmingly supported the self-defense claim.
He described Kim’s shooting of Atchison as a “textbook self-defense” incident, indicating that the legal grounds for prosecution were lacking.
Following the shooting, Kim was never disciplined by the Atlanta Police Department and retired roughly nine months later.
The case did not undergo grand jury scrutiny until introduced by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in 2022.
In a related federal civil rights lawsuit filed in 2020, Atchison’s family alleged that the officers entered the apartment of Atchison’s infant son and the child’s mother without a valid search warrant before pursuing him to another residence.
This accusation claimed that the officers threatened, the tenants with arrest if they did not permit entry without a warrant.
However, Judge Brown contradicted this account, stating that the tenant had informed officers of Atchison’s whereabouts and had given them her consent to enter the premises.
Although Kim retired before any disciplinary actions were decided by the APD, the lawsuit indicated that other involved officers faced citations for violations of department policies during the operation.
The Georgia NAACP emphasized that this ruling poses a significant setback, not just to the Atchison family’s quest for justice but also to civil rights and public safety nationwide.
Georgia NAACP President Gerald Griggs urged DA Fani Willis to file an immediate appeal to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, stressing the importance of taking the matter to the United States Supreme Court if necessary.
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