A federal lawsuit claims Atlanta Police allowed an officer whom internal investigations had described as unstable and potentially dangerous to stay on the job, a decision that resulted in him shooting an unarmed man.
Officer Kylema Jackson had been an Atlanta officer for almost 11 years when he shot and seriously wounded Will O. King while King was sitting in a car in a service station on Jonesboro Road on April 4, 2013, said the lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta.
Jackson approached King and his friends with his gun drawn after noticing King had a dealer “drive-out tag” on his vehicle. The lawsuit noted that even if the tag was improper it would only lead to a misdemeanor charge.
“Jackson yelled for all of the occupants to raise their hands, to which they all complied, including Mr. King,” said the lawsuit filed by attorneys James D. McGuire and Richard B. Crohan. “Despite complying with the demand, defendant Jackson used unjustified and excessive deadly force by shooting through the glass of the driver’s side window, striking Mr. King in the side of the face.”
King drove off after receiving the “massive head injury” and was taken to the hospital. The lawsuit contends King and his friends were unarmed and did nothing to provoke the shooting.
“At no time prior to the shooting did defendant Jackson have any articulable suspicion to believe that Mr. King had committed any felonies,” the lawsuit said.
An attempt to reach King for comment was unsuccessful; and the lawsuit attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for an interview Tuesday.
Attempts to reach Jackson for comment Tuesday were also unsuccessful. An APD spokeswoman said Tuesday the department would check if it had received a copy of the lawsuit and would refer questions to the city law department.
The lawsuit said King suffered life-threatening injuries that required multiple surgeries and treatment for more than a year. He accumulated more than $500,000 in medical bills, the lawsuit said.
Jackson, the lawyers said, had a series of complaints regarding unnecessary force and aggressiveness toward civilians and other officers. They wrote in the lawsuit that internal records also showed:
- During a 2005 investigation in which Jackson was accused of refusing to walk a beat — saying he didn't "walk foot beats, it goes against (my) principles and (my) manhood," the interviewing sergeant opined that Jackson was mentally unstable and the sergeant wondered if he should be concerned about his personal safety. Both investigating sergeants discussed Jackson's "bizarre" behavior and concerns he might use his weapon. Jackson was relieved of duty and surrendered his badge and weapon on May 25, 2005. He was reinstated July 14, 2005, the lawsuit said.
- In another 2005 investigation Jackson approached a group of motorcycle riders in a service station on Boulevard in the Old Fourth Ward, who were gathering for photographs. Jackson cursed the group, which included an off-duty police officer, telling them to move on, pulling his weapon in the process. Seven members of the group, including the off-duty officer, later filed a complaint saying Jackson used "unnecessary and excessive" force. The APD initially ruled Jackson's behavior constituted a a "courtesy violation" but later reversed the decision and exonerated him, the lawsuit said.
- Another officer complained about Jackson's "irate" and confrontational behavior toward her and other law-enforcement officers during an off-duty job at an event. An APD internal report noted Jackson had repeated complaints regarding his "attitude and courtesy" toward civilians and law officers and that "without some form of training, this type of situation will continue and cause unforeseen problems for the department and Officer Jackson."
- In 2008, when Jackson arrested a man for drinking in public — the man complained that Jackson punched him and pepper sprayed him, the investigation found Jackson admitted delaying getting the man medical assistance for the pepper spray for 40 minutes "to teach … a lesson." The internal report recommended counseling.
- Also in 2008, Jackson was accused of manhandling a girl who had come to assist her blind grandmother at an apartment complex where Jackson lived and had taken an unapproved position as a "courtesy officer." Jackson bruised her arm when forcing her to leave the property on foot in the rain. When the girl's mother arrived she found her daughter outside in the rain. When the mother approached Jackson at his apartment, he came to the door with a handgun. The APD investigation sustained this complaint of unnecessary force, the lawsuit said.
The city should have properly trained or discharged Jackson, the lawsuit said. Instead, the city continued to employ him as a police officer and failed to refrain him from “unlawfully and maliciously employing excessive and unnecessary force,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit requests $510,000 in medical expenses and other unstated financial amounts for King’s pain and disfigurement as well as punitive damages for the city’s failure to properly train or dismiss Jackson.
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