A 27-year-old man was shot dead by Atlanta police Monday afternoon after reports were called in that he was acting in an erratic manner. When police arrived on the scene, the man was completely naked and acting “deranged.” The man was knocking on random doors for an unknown reason as he climbed fences and other obstacles to move form one door to another. At one point, the unarmed and naked man charged a white police officer, who responded by firing his gun, resulting in a fatality . The officer, who’s name has not been released, had a taser on him at the time.
Police dispatch received a call at approximately 1:00 p.m. on Monday, according to the Huffington Post , claiming a naked black man was “acting deranged, knocking on doors, and crawling on the ground naked.” The An officer arrived at the location and witnessed the erratic behavior in action and attempted to approach him in a parking lot and determine why the man was acting in such a manner. The man, later identified as Anthony Hill, began to move toward the officer. The officer demanded he stop, while backing away, but Hill started to run at him. The officer responded by opening fire and killing Hill.
Sky News reported that Anthony Hill suffered from mental problems and was a veteran of the Air Force. He often tool to social media to talk about his bipolar disorder, as well as his R&B aspirations.
According to police reports, the unnamed officer has been with the department for at least seven years and had a taser on him at the time. The case is currently under investigation and it is unknown why he chose to shoot Hill instead of stun him.
Chief Cedric Alexander stated, in a press conference, that Hill was obviously suffering from a mental illness during the incident and that he is looking into training to teach his officers how to deal with such a scenario.
“We have already, as many departments have begun to do, look at how do we expand our mental health training. It appears that we’re seeing more and more of these cases across the country in which police are engaging with those who may be in distress.”
Anthony Hill’s death represents the third black male shot dead by police since last Friday. Each of the men were either unarmed, or appeared to be unarmed, prior to being shot by the officers.
[Photo Courtesy: Sky News ]
