© CBSAnthony Hill and Robert Olsen
DeKalb County Police Officer Robert Olsen, who shot and killed Anthony Hill last year, has been indicted on all six charges against him, including murder. The family and their supporters have expressed delight at the 'historic' grand jury decision.
The grand jury deliberated from 9:00am into early evening on Thursday, before indicting Olsen on two felony murder counts, one aggravated assault count, one making a false statement count, and two violation of oath by a public officer counts.
Hill, who was 27 at the time of his death on March 9 last year, was shot twice in the chest by Olsen. The events of that day began with neighbors calling police about a naked man's outlandish behavior. Witnesses said Hill jumped from his second floor apartment balcony twice, climbed the side the building, and ran and crawled around the premises, all while naked and speaking incomprehensibly.
Hill, an Air Force veteran, was mentally ill, and according to his family's attorney was medically discharged after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2013.Olsen, who had previously undergone training on dealing with mentally ill people, gave repeated commands to Hill to stop where he was, but when Hill continued toward Olsen, the officer pulled his service weapon and fired twice. Hill was carrying nothing, and Olsen did not use the Taser or pepper spray he was carrying at the time.Afterward, Olsen said he feared for his life, and that Hill was likely on PCP or a similar drug. Different witnesses at the time said Olsen approached either normally or menacingly.
Comment: Kudos to Judge Geoffrey Carter. Pay up, corporate America.