Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Ex-Officer Gets 12 Years in Naked Man's Fatal Shooting
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
November 1, 2019

Share

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.

Sentence Lighter Than Prosecutors Wanted

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.
In an email after the hearing, defense attorney Amanda Clark Palmer said “we cannot say it is an unfair sentence, and we appreciate (the judge’s) thoughtfulness.”

Ex-Officer Remorseful, Attorney Says

Clark Palmer added that Olsen is remorseful about Hill’s death.
“As Ms. Olsen said today, she and Chip think about the Hills every day and Chip will think about Anthony Hill every day for the rest of his life,” she wrote, referring to a statement Olsen’s wife read in court.
Olsen himself did not address the court and was led from the courtroom by sheriff’s deputies after the sentencing.
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. “This is what this is all about, the consequences of that decision.”

Victim’s Family Hoped for Testimony

After the sentencing, Giummo said she didn’t get the sentence she’d hoped for but that some prison time is better than none. She added that she would have liked to hear from Olsen: “I was hoping he was going to get on the stand to defend what he did, and he didn’t.”
Along with Giummo, Hill’s sister Tamara Giummo and father Anthony Hill Sr., addressed the judge, talking about his peaceful nature, love for children and music, and the pain left by his death. They urged her to impose the maximum sentence, which would have been 30 years in prison after two of the counts were merged.
Two friends and a former DeKalb police colleague attested to Olsen’s good character, calling him loyal, kind and hardworking. His wife read a statement, her voice cracking with emotion.
“I believe that most people in this world do try to do what they feel is the right thing, some are just better at it than others,” Kathy Olsen said. “My husband, I truly believe, is one of these people.”

Trial Overlapped with Guyger Case in Texas

While police officers frequently aren’t charged or convicted after shooting black men, Olsen’s trial actually overlapped with the trials of two other white police officers who shot unarmed black men.
A jury in Dallas found former officer Amber Guyger guilty of murder in the shooting of Botham Jean. Guyger testified that she mistook Jean’s apartment for her own and thought he was a burglar. She was convicted Oct. 1 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
A few days later, a Georgia jury found a white former police officer who fatally shot a fleeing, unarmed black man not guilty of voluntary or involuntary manslaughter. Jurors did find Zechariah Presley guilty of violating his oath of office in the 2018 shooting of Tony Green. Presley was sentenced to a year in prison.
In the Olsen case , the apartment complex manager where Hill lived testified that she saw him wearing only shorts and behaving strangely on March 9, 2015. After returning to his apartment briefly, Hill reemerged without clothes. The property manager called 911 three times.
Dispatch told Olsen 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, witnesses said.
Olsen exited his car and yelled, “Stop! Stop!” Hill didn’t stop and Olsen shot him twice, witnesses said.
Prosecutors told jurors Olsen unreasonably and unnecessarily used deadly force to deal with the unarmed, naked man who was suffering a mental health crisis. Defense attorneys argued Olsen had limited information, was scared to death, had only seconds to make a tough decision and acted in self-defense.

DON'T MISS

Israeli Airstrike Kills at Least 20 People Including Children at a School in Central Gaza

DON'T MISS

US to Deploy Missile Defense System and About 100 Troops to Israel

DON'T MISS

Israeli Tanks Enter UN Peacekeeper Base in Lebanon, Drawing Protest

DON'T MISS

Fresno State Falls to Washington State in Fourth Quarter Heartbreaker

DON'T MISS

What’s Behind the Northern Lights That Dazzled the Sky Farther South Than Normal

DON'T MISS

Are Male Voters Reluctant to Vote for a Woman? Harris’ Backers Are Confronting the Question Head On

DON'T MISS

The Brutal Story Behind California’s New Native American Genocide Education Law

DON'T MISS

Feeling Stressed About the Election? Here’s What Some Are Doing and What They Say You Can Do Too

DON'T MISS

Black Voters Drift From Democrats, Imperiling Harris’ Bid, Poll Shows

DON'T MISS

Playful Pup Renny Leaves Street Life Behind, Awaits Adoption in Fresno

UP NEXT

Las Vegas Says Goodbye to the Tropicana With a Flashy Casino Implosion

UP NEXT

Merced County CHP Traffic Stop Turns Into $1.2 Million Fentanyl Bust

UP NEXT

Tulare County Men Arrested in Party Shooting, Victim Hospitalized

UP NEXT

Houthis Vow Retaliation Against US for Yemen Airstrikes

UP NEXT

Clovis Daytime Burglary: 2 Suspects Arrested, 1 at Large

UP NEXT

Tulare County Teen Arrested for School Shooting Threat

UP NEXT

Chemical Smoke Spewing From a Georgia Factory Is Projected to Spread Toward Atlanta as Winds Shift

UP NEXT

Hurricane Helene’s Death Toll Passes 150 as Crews Search for Survivors

UP NEXT

81-Year-Old South Korean Falls Short in Bid to Become Oldest Miss Universe Contestant

UP NEXT

Traffic Stop Leads to Cocaine Bust on Highway 99

Fresno State Falls to Washington State in Fourth Quarter Heartbreaker

8 hours ago

What’s Behind the Northern Lights That Dazzled the Sky Farther South Than Normal

10 hours ago

Are Male Voters Reluctant to Vote for a Woman? Harris’ Backers Are Confronting the Question Head On

11 hours ago

The Brutal Story Behind California’s New Native American Genocide Education Law

11 hours ago

Feeling Stressed About the Election? Here’s What Some Are Doing and What They Say You Can Do Too

11 hours ago

Black Voters Drift From Democrats, Imperiling Harris’ Bid, Poll Shows

24 hours ago

Playful Pup Renny Leaves Street Life Behind, Awaits Adoption in Fresno

1 day ago

Another Top City Official Quits in Los Banos as Critical Election Looms

1 day ago

Madera County Farmland Conversion Program Begins With $10 Million in State Funds

1 day ago

Sanewashing? The Banality of Crazy? A Decade Into the Trump Era, Media Hasn’t Figured Him Out

1 day ago

Israeli Airstrike Kills at Least 20 People Including Children at a School in Central Gaza

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli airstrike has killed at least 20 people including children at a school-turned-shelter in central...

42 mins ago

42 mins ago

Israeli Airstrike Kills at Least 20 People Including Children at a School in Central Gaza

3 hours ago

US to Deploy Missile Defense System and About 100 Troops to Israel

3 hours ago

Israeli Tanks Enter UN Peacekeeper Base in Lebanon, Drawing Protest

8 hours ago

Fresno State Falls to Washington State in Fourth Quarter Heartbreaker

10 hours ago

What’s Behind the Northern Lights That Dazzled the Sky Farther South Than Normal

11 hours ago

Are Male Voters Reluctant to Vote for a Woman? Harris’ Backers Are Confronting the Question Head On

11 hours ago

The Brutal Story Behind California’s New Native American Genocide Education Law

11 hours ago

Feeling Stressed About the Election? Here’s What Some Are Doing and What They Say You Can Do Too

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend