CLARK COUNTY, Ind. — Fort Knox Police are investigating a shooting involving their officers that ended in a man’s death early Sunday.
According to a news release, the ordeal began Saturday night when officers responded to reports of a suspicious man near the Fort Knox post Visitor’s Center.
When officers arrived at the location, they said the man fled in his vehicle onto the Ft. Knox military reservation.
Three officers followed in suit, alleging the man was attempting to hit their vehicles with his own. That pursuit ended just east of the city of Ft. Knox.
Officials said when the car was stopped, officers tried to diffuse the situation for 90 minutes before the man attempted to ram and run over them. That moment led to officers shooting the man around 1:20 a.m. Sunday.
Larry Wilder, the attorney representing the family, identified the man as 41-year-old William "Billy" Atkins of Salem, Indiana. Wilder said Atkins had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had been going through court-ordered treatments following an incident in Oct. 2020 that resulted in his arrest in Clark County, Indiana.
"What they wanted us to do was make it clear some of the issues Billy was facing with his mental health," Wilder said, speaking for Atkins' family. "We belong to a system that when you have individuals like Billy Atkins, it's nearly impossible to figure out what to do to help this person."
In a news conference Monday morning, Wilder said that on Saturday, Jan. 22, Atkins called his mother about half an hour before he arrived at Ft. Knox. The things that he told his mother led her to believe that her son may be going through an "episode," according to the attorney.
"He suffered from a mental illness that on this evening we believe clearly manifested itself to the fullest degree," Wilder said. "He was clearly not a danger to anyone. He clearly was suffering from a mental breakdown."
Wilder said Atkins arrived at Ft. Knox and asked for a visitor's pass. When he was denied the pass, reports show Atkins eventually breached the gate anyway -- leading police to the scene.
Wilder told WHAS11 that Atkins' battles with his mental health had been known and he believes it led directly to the Ft. Knox incident. He cited the Clark County arrest as evidence, when Atkins was charged with armed robbery, car theft and kidnapping -- one where an arrest report cited Atkins telling an officer, "Jesus was with me in the car."
"[He said] that his travels were at the direction of God," Wilder said.
In Nov. 2020, a judge ruled Atkins to be released on bond, in order for him to get two psychiatric evaluations on his condition. A Clark County administrator tells WHAS 11 that was the responsibility of the Atkins party, and according to recent records, those evaluations were never filed. It leaves both a concrete diagnosis and exact reasons why Atkins was at Ft. Knox to begin with still under investigation.
Wilder believes that during the standoff, police had time to evaluate both Atkins' history and current state of mind enough not to shoot. He says it should have dictated the decisions they made.
"[It's a] determination of whether or not the facts, as everyone knew them, indicated that that fear actually makes sense," said fellow attorney Zachary Stewart, who spoke alongside Wilder at the news conference.
Wilder described Atkins as a man who was "functioning as a solid citizen... working a job and contributing to the community," while also as someone who suffered from mental illness. He said Atkins owned his own concrete business and had been completing jobs up until his death.
The attorney said Atkins' parents were not told that their son was on Ft. Knox property until after he was killed.
Ft. Knox officials said although a motive is unclear, there is no initial indication the incident was extremist or terrorist-related.
The officers involved in the incident are on paid administrative leave pending the investigation’s outcome. It’s being handled by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division.
If you have any information related to this incident that can help authorities, you are asked to contact the CID at (502) 624-6332.
Wilder says once more facts come out from the case, they'll consider whether to pursue a civil lawsuit. That's if they believe police violated Atkins' basic human rights.
Wilder says Fort Campbell is in charge of the autopsy. We're told Atkins' family wants more details prior to setting funeral arrangements.
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