Friday 22 January 2016

Officer indicted in fatal shooting of unarmed naked man Anthony Hill


Officer indicted in fatal shooting of unarmed naked man Anthony Hill

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — 
A DeKalb County grand jury has indicted the officer who shot and killed an unarmed naked man.
DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James presented his case to a grand jury Thursday seeking criminal charges against veteran DeKalb County police Officer Robert Olsen.
Olsen shot and killed Anthony Hill, 27, in March claiming that Hill made an aggressive lunge toward him after responding to a call that a man was running around an apartment complex naked.Olsen turned himself in to the DeKalb County Jail Friday morning. He has since been released on bond.
Hill's friends and family camped outside the DeKalb County Courthouse all week.
They told Channel 2’s Matt Belanger they are pleased with the decision.  
Supporters called the decision "historic."
Olsen will be the first Georgia officer in six years to stand trial for a shooting death while on the job.
[READ: Grand jury hearing testimony in police shooting of naked veteran]
Supporters gathered outside of the courthouse started singing after they learned police Olsen was charged with murder Thursday night.
"It's time he pays for the murder of Anthony Hill," said Dawn O’Neal with Rise Up Atlanta.
"The grand jury returned a true bill as to every count of this indictment," James said a news conference Thursday night.
James said members of a grand jury indicted the veteran DeKalb County police officer on all six counts -- including felony murder, aggravated assault, making a false statement and violating an oath of office.
"And I expect he will be taken into custody shortly," James said.
Family members said Hill suffered from mental illness.
After the announcement, Hill's family and their attorney expressed gratitude to supporters.
"I say thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I thank them," said Hill’s mother Carolyn Giummo.
READ: Girlfriend of naked man killed by police hoping for indictment]
"This is a day in history, a moment in history all of you played a part in it, and we thank you on behalf of the family," attorney Christopher Chestnut told supporters outside the courthouse.
A Superior Court judge signed a warrant for Olsen's arrest Thursday evening.
"There certainly has been a pattern of these types of killings and this I think will set history," Chestnut said.
"This has been a long and challenging process for everyone involved. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Anthony Hill's family and also to Officer Olsen and his family. We must now allow the criminal justice system to run its course," DeKalb Police Chief James Conroy said in a statement.

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