Late Thursday evening [January 21, 2016] a grand jury indicted a white police officer in the shooting death of an unarmed Black U.S Air Force veteran.
Officer Robert Olsen has been charged with two counts of felony murder, two counts of violation of oath of office, and one count each of aggravated assault and making a false statement after shooting and killing 27-year old Anthony Hill.
Hill’s death was the tragic result of Olsen responding to a March 2015 call of a naked man behaving strangely outside of a suburban Atlanta apartment complex.
Officer Olsen now becomes the first Georgia law enforcement officer in five years to be indicted on the shooting death of an unarmed civilian.
“This is a day in history,” said Christopher M. Chestnut, Hill’s family’s lawyer. “Hopefully this will set a precedent for discouraging paramilitary policing.”
Officer Olsen’s attorney Don Samuel, however, states he is “disappointed in the decision of the grand jury.”
“The defense, of course, was not permitted to present any of the witnesses who were present at the scene, or any expert witnesses who would testify that Officer Olsen’s reaction to the threat of violent injury was reasonable,” Samuel stated. “When this case is presented in a fair manner to a jury in an open courtroom, Officer Olsen will be fully exonerated.”
This indictment comes only two weeks after Dekalb County District Attorney Robert D. James Jr. announced that he would be pursuing criminal charges against Olsen.
“My job is to uphold the laws of Georgia and prosecute anyone who violates them,” James said. “This case is no exception. The facts and circumstances surrounding the shooting death of Anthony Hill warranted felony murder charges.”