INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ A federal judge has dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the mother of an Indianapolis man who was fatally shot by an Indianapolis grocery store manager during a robbery inside a Kroger store.
The Indianapolis Business Journal reports Judge Tanya Walton Pratt on Wednesday ruled the Cincinnati-based supermarket chain could not be held accountable for the death of 26-year-old Jeremi Atkinson.
The lawsuit contended Kroger failed to enforce its safety policies, which prohibit employees from carrying firearms on duty. Pratt wrote there was no evidence that Kroger willfully and wantonly caused harm to Atkinson.
Prosecutors had said store manager Elijah Elliott, who has since resigned, was justified under Indiana law when he shot Atkinson during the attempted robbery.
Toni Atkinson had filed the suit in July 2012.
