Family receives settlement 12 years after teen was killed by Atlanta police officer

ATLANTA — The Atlanta City Council approved a $200,000 settlement agreement for the family of 18-year-old Corey Ward.

Ward was killed by an Atlanta police officer in Buckhead in 2002. His family said the teen was unarmed and was driving away from officers at the time.

“The money didn’t matter. My goal was to clear Corey’s name and get the officer off the force,” said Judy Arnold-Atkins, Ward’s grandmother.

The family filed a civil lawsuit against the City of Atlanta in 2002.

“With this settlement, the City of Atlanta has acknowledged that Corey Ward was killed for absolutely no reason, so in some real sense, the family won the fight,” said Rev. Markel Hutchins, a civil rights activist.

A judge granted Raymond Bunn immunity from murder charges. In an interview from 2006, Bunn told Channel 2’s Mark Winne that he feared for his life.

“I don’t want them to think I murdered their child. That is not what happened and my heart goes out to them,” said Bunn, who later left the department.

“It just doesn’t seem like enough,” said City Councilman Michael Julian Bond. “How could you replace a person first of all and then have this go one for almost 12 years? That is suffering in itself.”

Ward’s grandmother said the fight is far from over.

“I pray for the Ferguson family and all of the young men out there because it was Corey that night but it has been so many more since then. And if things don't change its going to be so many more,” she said.

WSBTV