‘It is Unacceptable’: Father of Unarmed Black Man Killed by Atlanta Cop Outraged After Fani Willis Refuses to Appeal Decision by Trump-Appointed Judge to Dismiss the Case
Despite the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office compiling a 65-page investigative report outlining the reasons why an Atlanta police officer should be charged in the shooting death of an unarmed Black man, the same district attorney’s office is now refusing to appeal a decision by a Trump-appointed federal judge who last month dismissed the case. And the victim’s father, Jimmy Hill, believes it is because his son was not a celebrity. After all, he said, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis did not hesitate to aggressively pursue charges against President Donald Trump and Atlanta rapper Young Thug in recent years. The office of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, right, said it will not file an appeal in the case of Jimmy Atchison, left, after a Trump-appointed federal judge dismissed the case against him last month. (Photo: Jimmy Hill and Fulton County District Attorney's Office) But Hills says she refuses to do the same for Jimmy Atchison, the 21-year-old unarmed Black man who was killed by Atlanta police officer Sung Kim in 2019 while hiding in a closet and who was complying with the cop’s orders when he was killed, according to other cops on the scene. “It is unacceptable,” Hill said in an exclusive interview with Atlanta Black Star. “How can you not appeal this case, knowing there was an injustice that was done to my son?” “Why can't you spend some of that same energy like you did when you went after Donald Trump and Young Thug? Why can't you spend some of that same energy on my son?” The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office indicted Kim in December 2022 after the agency’s Public Integrity Unit published a 65-page report accusing the cop of violating several laws, policies and procedures, charging him with felony murder, involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and violation of oath of office. But last month, United States District Judge Michael L. Brown, appointed by Trump in 2018, dismissed the case — which had been taken from the state by the federal Department of Justice — claiming that Kim was “immune from criminal prosecution” because he “reasonably believed” Atchison had a gun and was acting in self-defense. The district attorney’s office had the option of filing an appeal before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, but last week, Hill was informed that it was not going to file an appeal. “You’re supposed to stand for truth and justice,” he said in regard to the district attorney’s office. “You continue to rave about integrity, but why don’t you have the courage to show some integrity and appeal this unjust ruling?” Hill, 63, who has been fighting for justice for his son since the shooting death, said he learned about the district attorney’s decision not to file an appeal last week through a phone call from his attorney. Atlanta Black Star reached out to the district attorney’s media division for comment or documents pertaining to its decision, but has not heard back yet. 'Miscarriage of Justice' Atlanta police began investigating Atchison in January 2019 after a woman named Kelly Brogan accused the Black man of stealing her phone and purse at gunpoint, which Hill claims is false. Instead, Atchison asked to use her phone, then walked away with it without using force or weapons, Hill asserts. Nevertheless, the case was handed as an armed robbery to the Atlanta Metropolitan Major Offenders Violent Crimes Task Force, known as AMMO, which is overseen by the FBI but made up of federal and local officers. On January 22, 2019, Kim, who was leading the task force, lied to the 12 other officers by claiming that Atchison had a violent history of fighting with police and would be armed and dangerous, which was not the case. Later that day, the task force, which consisted of 11 Atlanta police officers and two federal agents, donned military gear and broke into the home where Atchison was staying with the mother of his children. Atchison hopped out a window, prompting a foot pursuit that lasted an hour, where at no point did police see him holding a gun. He eventually ran into a building and into the apartment of a woman, where he hid in the closet. The woman gave police consent to enter the apartment, but never mentioned anything about him being armed. Kim was the first cop to enter the unit and said he spotted somebody hiding in the closet, covered in clothes, where only his eyes were visible, so he walked back outside and beckoned four other officers to walk in with him, including two local cops and two federal agents. Kim then claimed he ordered Atchison to “show us your hands” or “don’t move,” but the district attorney’s office determined the cop told him to show his hands. But when Atchison did show his hands, Kim fired his gun a single time, striking the man in the head, killing him. Kim claimed Atchison was holding both his hands together as if he had a gun, making him fear for his life, but none of the other cops fired their guns. Kim, who worked for the Atlanta Police Department for 26 years, retired in November 2019. The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office indicted him in December 2022. “The investigation by PIU discovered that in execution of the arrest warrant, the AMMO Task Force violated the law, FBI polices and several APD policies and procedures,” stated the investigative report by the district attorney’s Public Integrity Unit. The report listed multiple examples of why Kim needed to be indicted, including the fact that he lied about Atchison’s past, accusing him of having a history of violence against cops when there was not a single instance to support that claim. “The handling of this case has been a miscarriage of justice,” said Hill. “It's been an example of a supreme failure in the criminal justice system. Like, who do you really trust? Who is liberty and justice really for?” Hill, who vows to continue fighting for justice for his son, is asking citizens to sign a petition encouraging the district attorney’s office to file an appeal. We will update this story if the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office responds to our request for comment or documentation regarding its decision not to file an appeal.
