Ex-cop gets 12 years for fatal shooting of unarmed, naked man
DECATUR, Ga. — A former Georgia police officer convicted of aggravated assault and other crimes in the fatal shooting of an unarmed, naked man was sentenced Friday to 12 years in prison.
Robert “Chip” Olsen was responding to a call of a naked man behaving erratically at an Atlanta-area apartment complex in March 2015 when he killed 26-year-old Anthony Hill, a black Air Force veteran who’d been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and PTSD.
Olsen, who is white, was convicted of one count of aggravated assault, two counts of violating his oath of office and one count of making a false statement. Jurors acquitted him on two counts of felony murder.
DeKalb County Superior Court Judge
LaTisha Dear Jackson sentenced Olsen to a total of 20 years, with 12 years to serve in prison, followed by eight years of probation.
“I see you,” the judge told Hill’s family, saying she watched them throughout the trial and admired their strength. She told Olsen she also watched him and, while many may have thought he was stoic throughout, she saw him shedding tears and replaying the shooting in his head.
Prosecutors asked for 25 years in prison followed by five years on probation, while defense attorneys asked for five years in prison.
While the sentence was lower than prosecutors wanted, DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston said she’s grateful Olsen will spend time behind bars and will be held accountable for his actions.
“A badge, a uniform, a gun are not a license to shoot and kill with impunity,” she said.
Hill’s mother, Carolyn Giummo, told the judge she knows Olsen didn’t wake up that day intending to kill her son, but he’s the reason she had to bury her youngest child.
“Because he chose to use deadly force, that is the reason we’re here,” she said.