Shooting of Anthony Hill

Shooting of Anthony Hill
Date March 9, 2015 (2015-03-09)
Location Chamblee, Georgia, United States
Outcome Fatal shooting
Deaths Anthony Hill
Inquiries Georgia Bureau of Investigation
Accused Officer Robert Olsen
Charges Felony murder (two counts)
Aggravated assault
Making a false statement
Violation of oath by a public officer (two counts)

The shooting of Anthony Hill, a black U.S. Air Force veteran, occurred on March 9, 2015, in Chamblee, Georgia, near Atlanta. Hill was fatally shot by police officer Robert Olsen. Hill suffered from mental illness and was naked and unarmed at the time of the incident.[1][2] The incident was covered in local and national press and sparked the involvement of Black Lives Matter and other advocacy groups who demonstrated their support for Hill. In January 2016, a grand jury indicted officer Robert Olsen on two counts of felony murder and one count of aggravated assault.[3][4][5]

Background

Anthony Hill, a veteran of the United States Air Force who had served in Afghanistan,[6] was 27 years old and, according to his family, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.[5] He had been medically discharged from the Air Force two years before[7] after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.[8] On a Twitter account apparently belonging to Hill, he acknowledged suffering from the disorder.[9] According to his girlfriend, he had recently stopped taking his medication,[10] and it was not known whether he was still off of the medicine at the time of his shooting.[7] Friends of Hill believed it was a reaction to his medication that prompted the erratic behavior on the day of the shooting.[11]

Shooting

Hill was noted to be acting erratically when police were called; he had jumped from his second-story balcony in his apartment complex, and his speech was incomprehensible.[5] He had reportedly been running around the complex naked and knocking on doors[12] and lying and crawling on the ground.[9] The woman who called 911 told Hill's family's lawyer that she had called in order to get medical personnel to come for Hill.[8]

Officer Robert Olsen, employed by the Dekalb County Police Department for seven years, was dispatched to the scene[6] and found him in the parking lot of the complex.[13] Olsen waited in his car for several minutes, possibly for backup, when Hill began approaching from about 180 feet (55 m) away.[8] Olsen exited the car and began moving backward.[8] Hill, apparently unarmed, ran toward Officer Olsen, who stepped back and called to him to stop.[10] When Hill charged Olsen and failed to comply with orders to stop, Olsen shot him twice.[12] They were three to five feet apart when the shots were fired.[8] Hill died there.[12] Olsen had also been carrying a Taser and pepper spray, but DeKalb Police Chief Cedric Alexander said Olsen chose the firearm over those options.[8] Several residents witnessed the shooting.[9] Olsen said later that he had believed Hill was a threat to the officer's safety and under the influence of drugs[14] like phencyclidine or bath salts.[11] He told the grand jury deciding whether to indict him on charges of murder about other cases in which suspects who had used these drugs had attacked police.[2]

Aftermath

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) began investigating the shooting within days, and Olsen was placed on administrative leave for the duration.[12] He remained on paid leave through the time of the criminal grand jury hearing.[15] In April 2015 the GBI handed its findings over to the district attorney.[10]

The shooting prompted outcry about the police department's approach to handling people with mental illness, as well as critiques about race.[5] The shooting came in the wake of national social unrest and racial debate after the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri,[5][9] which inspired the Black Lives Matter movement.[16] As they had in other parts of the country, protests arose in Atlanta over race and police killings and use of excessive force.[10] Hill had remarked on the national debate three days prior to his death, posting on Facebook, "[t]he key thing to remember is, #blacklivesmatter, ABSOLUTELY, but not more so than any other life."[7][9] He remarked via Twitter, "[i]f 99 out of 100 cops [are] killing black men like its hunting season that leaves 1 just doing his job."[7] In the context of increased attention of police killings of racial minorities, prosecutors face greater pressure.[16]

Hill's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Officer Olsen, the police department, Dekalb county, and its department of commissioners.[17]

Grand jury

A civil grand jury convened in October 2015 determined that the shooting should be further investigated.[5] Olsen had told the jury that he had felt threatened by Hill.[16] It decided that a criminal grand jury would hear the evidence.[10]

In January 2016, District Attorney Robert D. James Jr. of DeKalb County announced that he would ask the criminal grand jury to indict, and that a warrant had been issued for Olsen's arrest.[5] Two weeks later, on January 21, 2016, the criminal grand jury indicted Officer Olsen for two counts of felony murder, one count of aggravated assault, one count of making a false statement and two counts of violation of oath by a public officer.[10] Felony murder implies the defendant killed someone while committing another felony; the two felonies are the assault and violation of oath charges.[17] The district attorney said that Olsen was charged with making a false statement because he had told another officer during the investigation that Hill had hit him in the chest.[17] He also said the violation of oath charges had to do with his violation of department rules and use of force.[10] An arrest warrant was issued for Olsen on the 21st.[14] He turned himself in that day and was granted a bond of $110,200 and released.[10]

Olsen's indictment marked the first time in six years that an officer was charged with murder in Georgia for shooting someone while on duty.[18] An investigation by news outlets found that no officers had faced prosecution for shootings in Georgia in the previous five years—which saw 184 shootings by police.[11][19][20][1] Unlike any other state in the US, Georgia allows officers (but not regular civilians) to be present during the entire grand jury hearing and to make a statement at the very end that is unchallenged by anyone.[21]

Protesters supporting Hill had camped outside the courthouse for days before the grand jury announced its decision.[14][10] A crowd of several dozen began cheering and chanting when the decision to indict was announced outside the courthouse.[17] Groups involved in the protest included Black Lives Matter and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.[15]

Olsen resigned from the DeKalb County Police Department on January 25.[22]

References

  1. 1 2 Tobias Salinger (21 January 2016). "Georgia police officer who fatally shot unarmed naked man Anthony Hill indicted on six charges, including murder". New York Daily News.
  2. 1 2 Christian Boone (29 October 2015). "DeKalb grand jury split on police shootings". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  3. ↑ FOX. "Officer Indicted in Fatal Shooting of Anthony Hill". WAGA.
  4. ↑ "Grand Jury Indicts Police Officer For Murder Of Anthony Hill". The Huffington Post. 22 January 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Georgia Police Officer Indicted for Murder of Unarmed Black Man". The New York Times. 22 January 2016.
  6. 1 2 Dana Ford, CNN (15 October 2015). "Friends of Anthony Hill await answers in fatal police shooting". CNN.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Anthony Hill didn't shy away from bipolar diagnosis". Atlanta Journal Constitution. 23 January 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Christian Boone. "Who was Anthony Hill? Figure in DeKalb police shooting case suffered from mental illness". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Police Killing of Unarmed Georgia Man Leaves Another Town in Disbelief". The New York Times. 11 March 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Ralph Ellis and Ashley Fantz (22 January 2016). "Georgia officer indicted in fatal shooting". CNN.
  11. 1 2 3 Christian Boone (18 January 2016). "Protesters lobby for indictment in DeKalb police shooting of naked vet". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Ashley Southall (9 March 2015). "Naked Black Man Fatally Shot by White Police Officer in Georgia". The New York Times.
  13. ↑ Natelege Whaley (22 January 2016). "Georgia Officer Indicted for Murder of Anthony Hill". BET.com.
  14. 1 2 3 Lucy Uprichard (22 January 2016). "Robert Olsen Indicted: Georgia Cop Who Shot Unarmed Veteran Faces Murder Charges". Headlines & Global News.
  15. 1 2 FOX. "Officer Indicted in Fatal Shooting of Anthony Hill". KSAZ.
  16. 1 2 3 Rich McKay (22 January 2016). "The Georgia police officer who shot a naked, unarmed veteran will face murder charges". Business Insider. Reuters.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Kate Brumback (22 January 2016). "Police officer indicted in shooting of unarmed naked black man". The Seattle Times. The Associated Press.
  18. ↑ "Grand jury indicts officer in Anthony Hill shooting". wsbtv.com. 22 January 2016.
  19. ↑ Over the Line: Police Shootings in Georgia. Vimeo.
  20. ↑ Christian Boone (6 January 2016). "DA to seek indictment against officer who shot unarmed vet". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  21. ↑ Christian Boone. "DeKalb police shooting: a rare indictment, a long road to trial". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  22. ↑ FOX. "Officer Indicted in Fatal Shooting of Anthony Hill Resigns". WAGA.
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