From City Hall to Magic City, Capital B Atlanta reporters covered breaking news, secured exclusive interviews with newsmakers, unearthed painful history, and published groundbreaking enterprise stories that resonated online and on social media. Here are our top 10 stories of the year. Georgia is quietly working on building the largest ICE facility in the country, […]
police shooting
Posted inCriminal Justice
Off-Duty Police Officer Who Shot Atlanta Rapper Had Disciplinary History
Outside a Buckhead bar on the night of Oct. 11, Linton Blackwell was shot and killed by Gerald Walker, an off-duty Atlanta police officer. Since the shooting, Blackwell’s family and friends have been trying to piece together what happened the night the father of twin girls was killed and why the officer decided to use […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
17 Shots: Witness Describes Shooting of Atlanta Rapper by Off-Duty Police Officer
Linton Blackwell, a 44-year-old father and local rapper who was killed earlier this month by an off-duty Atlanta police officer, had approximately 17 gunshot wounds, according to the autopsy report created by a Fulton County medical examiner. The report documented two bullet wounds in the right upper back, one in the buttocks and 14 in […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Family Questions Police Account of Fatal Buckhead Shooting by Off-Duty Officer
At a balloon release in DeKalb Memorial Park last week, dozens of friends and family members gathered to remember Linton Blackwell, a man they said would do anything for his family, especially his twin daughters. “He’s an angel gone too soon, but he will watch over us,” Faith Harper, his aunt, told Capital B Atlanta […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
FBI Charges Georgia Sheriff in Fatal Shooting of Black Man Freed by Innocence Project
Buck William Aldridge, the sergeant with the Camden County Sheriff’s Office accused of turning a routine traffic stop in 2023 into a deadly altercation that killed 53-year-old Leonard Cure, has been indicted on civil rights violations by a federal grand jury. Just three years before he was killed, Cure, a client of the Innocence Project […]
Posted inCourts, Criminal Justice
State NAACP Calls for Appeal in Fatal Atlanta Police Shooting After Judge Drops Charges
Jimmy Hill is determined to continue his fight for justice after a federal judge decided Tuesday to drop the charges against retired Atlanta police officer Sung Kim, who shot and killed his son Jimmy Atchison in 2019. “Change ain’t going to come if we sit back and wait on others,” Hill told Capital B Atlanta […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
Viral Sermon Blaming Black Parents for Police Killings Sparks Mother’s Day Protest
While many Atlanta families were getting ready for church or preparing Mother’s Day brunch on Sunday, Jimmy Hill stood alone in protest outside one of Atlanta’s fastest-growing houses of worship, 2819 Church. Located in southwest Atlanta — and boasting 800,000 followers on YouTube and nearly half a million on Instagram — the church went viral […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
Judge to Decide Whether to Move Forward With Trial in Fatal Police Shooting of Jimmy Atchison
Jimmy Hill became visibly emotional on Monday as he watched retired Atlanta police officer Sung Kim testify for the first time in federal court about fatally shooting Hill’s son, Jimmy Atchison. Hill told Capital B Atlanta after the evidentiary hearing that he got caught up in the moment during Kim’s remarks, which he characterized as […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
Jimmy Atchison’s Family Hopes Justice Is Served Five Years After His Death
A preliminary hearing began Tuesday in the case against retired Atlanta police officer Sung Kim, who is charged in the 2019 shooting death of Adamsville resident Jimmy Atchison. Kim was one of multiple APD officers on an FBI fugitive task force that was pursuing Atchison for allegedly stealing a woman’s purse and cellphone at gunpoint. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
A Fight for Justice: Why the Family of Matthew Zadok Williams Is Suing DeKalb County
Chris Ann Lewis and her five daughters have spent almost two years trying to get justice for their son and little brother Matthew Zadok Williams, who was killed by a DeKalb County police officer. “This has to stop. The senseless killing of the mentally ill, it has to stop,” Lewis said. “They’re our brothers, our […]