A DeKalb County, Ga., police officer was indicted for murder yesterday in the March 2015 fatal shooting of an unarmed and naked civilian, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. District Attorney Robert James said an arrest warrant was issued for officer Robert Olsen. Olsen, who shot Anthony Hill, 27, after Hill approached him outside an apartment complex, was formally charged with two counts of felony murder, one count of aggravated assault, two counts of violating his oath of office and one count of making a false statement, James said. Olson became the first Georgia law enforcement officer in more than five years to face prosecution in the shooting death of a civilian. Olsen is white; Hill was black.
Since 2010, Georgia police have been involved in 187 fatal shootings, found an investigation by the Journal-Constitution and Channel 2 Action News. Olsen is just the second officer to be indicted; in the first such case the district attorney dismissed the charge the next day. Olsen was dispatched to the apartments after a neighbor called 911 to express concern about Hill's welfare. The Afghanistan war veteran had stripped naked, possibly a reaction to medication he was taking for bipolar disorder, diagnosed while he was still in the Air Force. After spotting Olsen, Hill began running toward the officer, slowing to a trot, witnesses say, when the officer ordered him to stop. Olson said he shot Hill because he feared for his safety, believing Hill was high on either PCP or bath salts.