DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — A white Atlanta-area police officer who shot a naked, mentally ill black veteran who was unarmed has been indicted on felony murder and other charges.
The decision came Thursday after DeKalb County prosecutors presented their case against Officer Robert Olsen, who fatally shot Anthony Hill on March 9 while responding to a call of a naked man behaving erratically outside a suburban Atlanta apartment complex.
The family of the 27-year-old Hill says he was a U.S. Air Force veteran who struggled with mental health problems. Tensions between police and minorities have risen across the country in the aftermath of a series of shootings mostly involving white law enforcement officers and unarmed African-American males. However, critics in Hill’s case, including his family, have focused more on his mental health and whether force should have been used at all because he was unarmed.
After announcing the indictment, DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James said prosecutors presented evidence for eight hours but declined to give many other details.
READ MORE: Video shows Chicago teenager running from police as he’s fatally shot
Olsen was indicted on two counts each of felony murder and violating oath of office and one count each of aggravated assault and making a false statement.
The felony murder counts do not indicate malice, but rather that Olsen killed someone during the commission of another felony, in this case aggravated assault or violation of his oath of office, James said. Olsen violated the department’s use of force policy and lied during the investigation, falsely saying Hill hit him in the chest before the shooting, James said.
Online jail records show Olsen was released Friday from the DeKalb County jail on $100,000 bond.
Olsen’s attorney, Don Samuel, said they are disappointed in the grand jury’s decision, but he noted the defense was not allowed to present any witnesses, experts or evidence and was not allowed to challenge any of the prosecution’s evidence.
“The prosecutors chose not to present all the witnesses who clearly observed what occurred, including the one witness who told the police that Mr. Hill was ‘attacking’ and ‘charging’ at Officer Olsen,” Samuel wrote in an email.
“When this case is presented in a fair manner to a jury in an open courtroom, Officer Olsen will be fully exonerated.”
Georgia law allows police officers to be present during grand jury proceedings when they are being accused of crimes in the course of their official duties and to make a statement at the end of the proceedings that the prosecution cannot question or challenge. Samuel said Olsen spoke before the grand jury for about 20 minutes.
READ MORE: Chicago police officer who shot teenager 16 times pleads not guilty to murder
Christopher Chestnut, an attorney for Hill’s family, said it was a historic day and that he hopes the indictment in this case sets a precedent.
A crowd of several dozen outside the courthouse burst into cheers upon hearing the decision and repeatedly chanted, “All six counts.”
Hill’s mother, Carolyn Giummo, thanked the crowd, some of whom had camped on a patch of grass outside the courthouse for several days to show their support. She said she’s grateful the grand jury reached the decision it did.
“The message is that you have to be accountable for your own actions,” Giummo said. “When you decide to do something, if it’s not right, there are consequences and you have to be held accountable for it.”
Hill’s family in November filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the DeKalb County Police Department, Olsen, the county and its board of commissioners.
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