ATLANTA — A former Atlanta police officer accused of shooting and killing a man who was hiding in a closet has been indicted in the case, court records show.
The two-count indictment shows Sung H. Kim is facing charges of involuntary manslaughter and violation of oath by a public officer. In a separate indictment, Kim is also facing charges of felony murder, aggravated assault and another count of violation of oath by public officer.
January 2023 would mark four years since Jimmy Atchison, 21, was shot and killed in 2019 as a joint FBI and Atlanta Police task force tried to arrest Atchison on a warrant related to an attempted robbery. Family attorneys disputed whether the robbery ever took place.
The shooting happened at an apartment complex in Atlanta's Adamsville neighborhood off of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive on Middleton Road.
Atchison's family has stated he was not armed, hiding in a closet and given conflicting commands from officers. When he got up he was shot and killed by then-APD Officer Kim. A short time later in 2019, Kim retired from APD. He was never charged.
Federal policy at the time didn't allow such task forces to use body cameras, so there is no body camera footage of the shooting.
The report completed by the Fulton County District Attorney's Office in 2020 recommended the case be presented to a grand jury in 2021 and stated the use of force against Atchison was unjustified according to the office's investigation. The office also recommended felony murder and aggravated assault charges be pursued.
The indictments were filed on Friday, Dec. 16.
Atchison's family has filed a $20 million lawsuit against the City of Atlanta and the FBI.