Split verdict in trial of ex-cop who fatally shot unarmed, naked veteran
A former Georgia police officer who fatally shot an unarmed, naked man was found not guilty of felony murder on Monday, but was convicted of aggravated assault and other charges that could potentially send him to prison for more than 30 years. Robert "Chip" Olsen's face turned red and he squeezed his eyes shut tightly when the verdict was read. His wife, Kathy Olsen, sobbed and yelled "No! No! No!" before she was led from the courtroom, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Two jurors also cried as they announced the split verdict, according to the paper. The panel had reportedly deliberated about 27 hours over six days. Olsen had faced the possibility of life in prison had he been convicted on the two felony murder counts.
DeKalb County Superior Court Judge LaTisha Dear Jackson set bond for Olsen at $80,000, ordered him to wear an ankle monitor and imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew that will be in effect until his sentencing on November 1.
Olsen, now 57, was a DeKalb County police officer in March 2015 when he responded to a call of a naked man behaving erratically outside an Atlanta-area apartment complex. Shortly after arriving, he fatally shot 26-year-old Anthony Hill, an Air Force veteran who had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Journal-Constitution reports Hill had recently stopped taking his medication.
A grand jury indicted Olsen nearly a year after the shooting. Olsen is white and Hill was black.
Hill's parents asked the judge to deny bond for Olsen.
"It's been four years that we've been waiting for this," said his mother, Carolyn Giummo. "My son is no longer here. ... I just feel like it's time now."
In addition to aggravated assault, Olsen was convicted of two counts of violating his oath of office and one count of making a false statement. The assault charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years; each of the other three counts carries a sentence of up to five years.
Monday's verdict came on the heels of a Texas jury finding a white former Dallas police officer guilty of murder in the shooting death of a black man. Amber Guyger was returning home after a long shift when she shot Botham Jean. Guyger testified that she mistook Jean's apartment for her own, which was one floor below, and that she thought he was a burglar in her home. She was convicted on October 1 and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
A few days later, on October 5, a jury in southeastern Georgia found a white former police officer who fatally shot a fleeing, unarmed black man not guilty on charges of voluntary and involuntary manslaughter. Jurors found Zechariah Presley guilty of violating his oath of office in the 2018 shooting of Tony Green in coastal Camden County, near the Georgia-Florida state line.
In the Olsen case, the apartment complex property manager testified that she saw Hill, a resident of the complex, wearing shorts but no shoes or shirt and behaving strangely on March 9, 2015. After maintenance workers got him to go to his apartment, he reemerged a short time later without any clothes.
The property manager, who testified that she was worried for Hill's safety because he was behaving so bizarrely, called 911 three times.
Olsen was told by dispatch there was a naked man who was "possibly demented." Hill was squatting in a roadway when Olsen arrived but jumped up and ran toward the patrol car, according to testimony from several witnesses.
Olsen got out of his car and yelled, "Stop! Stop!" Hill didn't stop, and Olsen shot him twice, witnesses said.
Prosecutors argued that Olsen unreasonably and unnecessarily used deadly force to deal with the unarmed, naked man who was suffering a mental health crisis. Defense attorneys countered that Olsen had limited information about the situation, was scared to death and had only seconds to make a tough decision.
During closing arguments, lawyers for both sides told jurors they needed to decide whether Olsen's actions were reasonable given the situation.
