Anthony Hill Said All Lives Matter, Not Just Black Lives: Georgia Cop Robert Olsen Indicted For Murder Of Naked, Unarmed Man
The Anthony Hill shooting case made headlines last year because a Georgia police officer named Robert Olsen shot and killed the Afghanistan war veteran while he was unarmed and naked. Last night, a grand jury indicted Olsen on six counts in connection to the shooting of the naked black man, including two counts of felony murder.
The Black Lives Matter movement had been following the case closely since Hill had suffered from PTSD and bipolar disorder, for which he had been discharged from the U.S. Air Force in April of 2013. But it turns out Hill may have personally disagreed with the Black Lives Matter movement on some issues since he defended law enforcement officers after the Michael Brown shooting and made references to the All Lives Matter counter-movement.
In March of 2015, officer Olsen was called to the apartments where Hill lived after residents spotted the man behaving in a bizarre fashion. According to the New York Times, witnesses say Hill had been “jumping repeatedly off his second-story balcony,” erratically knocking on random apartment doors, and was seen “lying on the ground, semi-clothed and then naked” by a painter named Ivan Lara. The witness said he first assumed Hill was exercising, but when he began to speak, his speech was indecipherable.
Eventually, workers within the apartment rental office decided to call 911. When Georgia cop Robert Olsen arrived, Hill was naked and on his hands and knees in the parking lot. Olsen parked the squad car far away, but then Hill began approaching the officer with his hands raised. Another witness named Pedro Castillo says the police officer looked “frightened” and yelled for Hill to stop running at him.
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Officer Olsen said he tried running backwards away from the charging man, and he claimed to be in fear of his life. When Hill came close, Olsen pulled his handgun and shot at Hill twice, killing him.
“The officer called to him to stop, while stepping backward,” explained DeKalb Police Chief Cedric Alexander, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “He then drew his weapon and fired two shots.”
Another neighbor, Adriana Gomez, said she saw Hill lying dead in the street and the police officer was crying.
“Maybe he chose the wrong weapon, I don’t know,” Ms. Gomez said. “That’s the question everybody’s asking.”
Almost a year later, a DeKalb County grand jury considering the Anthony Hill shooting case has indicted Robert Olsen on two counts of felony murder, one count of aggravated assault, one count of making a false statement, and two counts of violation of oath by a public officer. According to Fox 5, DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James said the “felony murder charges stem from the aggravated assault and violating his oath as a certified Georgia peace officer charges.”
“My job is to uphold the laws of Georgia and prosecute anyone who violates them. This case is no exception,” James said, according to 11 Alive. “The facts and circumstances surrounding the shooting death of Anthony Hill warranted felony murder charges.”
Before this decision was announced, various groups like Black Lives Matter, Rise Up Georgia, and SCLC were chanting and holding signs related to the Anthony Hill shooting. They wanted to make certain jury members were focused on the fact that Hill was naked, unarmed, and diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Before Hill passed away, he wrote on his Twitter and Facebook account about Black Lives Matter movement, the All Lives Matter counter-movement, and the Michael Brown shooting case.
“The key think to remember is, #blacklivesmatter, ABSOLUTELY, but not moreso than any other life,” he wrote.
Hill once interned with the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office, and Bridget Anderson, Hill’s girlfriend, said they often argued over his defense of law enforcement.
“We got in a lot of heated arguments about this,” Anderson said. “But he always believed the best about people. He was always spreading positivity.”
Although Hill suffered from bipolar disorder, he wrote about his health issues in a positive matter.
“I am thankful to be something other than normal,” it says. “I don’t fight my circumstance, I embrace it. I love myself. The media continues to paint the same horrific picture of mentally affected people but I have to tell you, there are so many shades in between the extremes.”
On the morning of his own shooting, the last words written by Anthony Hill said, “Where I once saw death I only see life.”
[Image via Facebook]
