George Floyd. The name is now synonymous with police brutality and the senseless killing of unarmed black men. His murder was recorded on video, for the world to see after police showed up on the scene to investigate a rather minor alleged crime. This unjust abuse of power set off nationwide protests. Just imagine if there was no video or police body cam footage. Would the average citizen have reacted in the same manner? Now, this is what brings us to the case of Jimmy Atchison. If there was video of the murder, then his name might have been what people would associate with police brutality- in Atlanta and around the country.
The Jimmy Atchison case starts out like so many with an alleged crime. Kelly Brogan alleged on December 29th, 2018 that Mr. Atchison (21 year old acquaintance) pointed a gun at her and stole her purse that contained a cell phone, credit cards, and money. The report wasn’t finalized until January 7, 2019. On the same day (January 7, 2019 )based on this alleged crime, Officer Jeffrey Henderson requested and was granted arrest warrants for Jimmy Atchison for the offenses of Armed Robbery, Aggravated Assault, and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony.
On January 22, 2019 police officers met in the morning to plan to execute an arrest warrant. It sounds pretty routine to this point until the details were revealed that it was not simply a couple of Atlanta Police Department (APD)officers to execute an arrest; but the Atlanta Metropolitan Major Offenders Violent Crimes Task Force (AMMO Task Force) would be utilized. The AMMO is a unit comprised of agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and local police officers from APD. A total of thirteen members of the AMMO Task Force (eleven APD officers) planned to execute the arrest warrant for 21 year old Jimmy Atchison. At this point, so many agents being dispatched for an alleged crime, seems like overkill.
AMMO Task Force Officer (AMMO TFO) and APD Officer Sung Kim lead the briefing and prepared the operational plan on how the arrest would be executed. According to TFOs Gardner, Cooper, Feliberty, Malstrom, Priestly, Mercure, Lambert, SA Winn, and SA Costa, was advised by TFO Kim that Mr. Atchison had a violent criminal history of resisting arrest. TFO Kim went on to say specifically that Mr. Atchison may be armed. The information provided by TFO Kim laid the foundation of the AMMO Task force to consider Mr. Atchison armed and dangerous; thus each officer would follow their use of deadly force policy of their respective agencies if needed.
After the briefing the AMMO Task force attempted to execute the arrest warrant at the target location. They forced entry and saw Mr. Atchison jump out of a third story window. Mr. Atchison ran to another apartment building, building 3018. TFOs surrounded building 3018, and to observed Mr. Atchison run to another building, this time building 3049. The resident of the unit that Mr. Atchison fled to, apartment #343, notified AMMO TFOs that Mr. Atchison was in her unit. Surrounded and trapped in a bedroom closet, Mr. Atchison was commanded by TFO Sung Kim to raise his hands and come out of the closet. Mr. Atchison complied by raising his hands yet TFO Kim still fired one round to the face of Mr. Atchison. The one round fired struck Mr. Atchison on the left side of his face and in spite of best efforts on the scene to save his life, Mr. Atchison died (taken from the report of the Public Integrity Unit of the Fulton County District Attorney's Office, completed in 2020).
What is most disturbing about this case are the numerous violations of law enforcement policies that occurred. Mr. Atchison complied and was still executed. The FBI Shooting Incident Review Team (SIRT) report concluded several violations regarding the AMMO Task Force with the most damning that TFO Kim was not justified when he shot and killed Mr. Atchison. Fulton County District Attorney’s Office Public Integrity Unit recommended Sung Kim be charged with Felony Murder in violation of O.C.G.A. 16-5-1(c), Aggravated Assault O.C.G.A. 16-5-21, and Violation of Oath by Public Officer in violation of O.C.G.A. 16-10-1. The medical examiner, Ryan D. McCormick, MD, declared the manner of death as homicide (PIU Report, 2020). The statute of limitations for misdemeanors has passed in this case but the statute of limitations for felonies runs on January 22, 2023. Armed with all this information the District Attorney’s Office in the city of Atlanta has declined to this point to prosecute Officer Sung Kim for murder. Recently, Jamarion Robinson’s case was selected to be prosecuted and up next should be the case for Jimmy Atchison. #JusticeforJimmyAtchison
For more information, and to sign the petition to indict Sung Kim, go to https://justiceforgeorgia.com/saytheirnames/blog-post-title-four-c3k55-anwtl-pfa8w
By Jerrod Moore
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