Trial to start for Georgia cop who shot naked, unarmed man
DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — A police officer responding to a call of a naked man behaving erratically at an Atlanta-area apartment complex arrived on the scene, exited his vehicle and shot the man almost immediately.
Now a jury must decide if he’s guilty of murder.
Robert “Chip” Olsen, then a DeKalb County officer, fatally shot 27-year-old Anthony Hill on March 9, 2015.
Olsen, 57, and his attorneys have said he was being attacked, feared for his safety and acted in self-defense. But prosecutors have said he used excessive force against Hill, a naked and unarmed U.S. Air Force veteran with mental health problems.
A grand jury indicted Olsen nearly a year later on charges of felony murder, aggravated assault, violation of oath of office and making a false statement. Olsen resigned following the indictment.
Jury selection in his trial is set to start Monday.
A felony murder charge doesn’t mean prosecutors believe Olsen acted with malice but rather that he killed someone while committing another felony, in this case aggravated assault or violation of his oath.
Olsen is white and Hill was black. Against a national backdrop of officers not facing charges after shooting black men, the indictment itself is noteworthy.
Gerald Griggs, a leader in the Atlanta NAACP chapter, said supporters of Hill’s family plan to pack the courtroom. He said he’s optimistic about a conviction but acknowledged that Olsen has some of the best defense attorneys in the state.
“We’re expecting the eyes of the community to be watching this very carefully, and we’re hopeful that whoever the 12 that are seated as a jury will listen to the evidence and return a verdict that speaks the truth, and that’s guilty on all counts,” Griggs said, predicting protests if Olsen is exonerated.
Hill had been medically discharged from the Air Force and was being treated for bipolar disorder but had stopped taking his medication because he didn’t like the side effects, his girlfriend, Bridget Anderson, said right after he died.