Federal Judge Dismisses Criminal Charges Against Atlanta Police Officer in Death During Arrest

A federal judge has dismissed all criminal charges against former Atlanta police officer Sung Kim, following a high-profile case involving the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Jimmy Atchison during an attempted arrest in January 2019. The ruling, issued Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Michael Brown, concluded that Kim’s actions were “textbook self-defense,” and questioned why state authorities had continued to pursue charges for more than two years.

Kim, who was serving as a member of the FBI Atlanta Violent Crime Task Force at the time, was indicted in December 2022 on counts ranging from involuntary manslaughter to felony murder and aggravated assault. The indictment followed a lengthy investigation into the circumstances surrounding Atchison’s death, which occurred as officers attempted to apprehend him under an outstanding warrant for armed robbery.

The confrontation unfolded inside an apartment complex where law enforcement tracked Atchison after he allegedly fled from officers trying to execute the warrant. According to the judge’s ruling, Kim discovered Atchison hiding beneath a pile of clothes in a closet. Upon issuing commands such as “show us your hands” and “don’t move,” Kim observed Atchison making a “sudden and rapid movement” with his hands from underneath the clothing toward Kim’s face and chest. Believing Atchison may have been armed and fearing for his life, Kim fired a single shot, fatally wounding the young man.

The court further emphasized that officers repeatedly called out to Atchison throughout the apartment but received no response prior to the fatal encounter. Judge Brown cited the constitutional principle of Supremacy Clause immunity, underscoring that federal officers acting within the scope of their duties, and using only necessary force, are protected from state prosecution. In his opinion, Kim’s conduct was not excessive and fell squarely within the bounds of authorized law enforcement activity.

This legal principle, combined with overwhelming evidence supporting Kim’s account of self-defense, led the judge to dismiss the charges entirely. “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,” wrote Judge Brown in his ruling.

Despite the dismissal, the case has left deep divisions in Atlanta. Advocates for Atchison’s family, who had campaigned for charges and accountability over several years, expressed frustration at the outcome. Atchison’s father, Jimmy Hill, previously described the indictment of Kim as the result of a long struggle for justice, stating, “This is what we have been praying for, ever since that day Jimmy was taken from us,” and vowing never to give up the fight for his son’s memory.

Sung Kim retired from the Atlanta Police Department a few months after the incident. His legal team had sought to have the charges dismissed earlier this year, arguing that both legal precedent and the facts demonstrated a clear case of self-defense. Commenting after the ruling, Kim's attorney called the prosecution a “tragic abuse of prosecutorial discretion,” reiterating that Judge Brown’s decision skillfully reaffirmed Kim’s actions as justified.

The case continues to stir debate over law enforcement accountability and use of force, even as the legal outcome now draws a line under criminal proceedings against the former officer.