Georgia Police Officer Indicted for Murder of Unarmed Black Man...

[Phentex]

This is the case of Anthony Hill, a naked, unarmed black man who was shot by a police officer.


NY Times

DECATUR, Ga. — A white police officer was indicted here Thursday on six counts, including felony murder, in the fatal shooting last year of an unarmed black man who was naked and described as acting in an erratic manner.

The indictment of Officer Robert Olsen of the DeKalb County Police Department came about two weeks after the district attorney said he would ask a grand jury to pursue criminal charges in the death of Anthony Hill, a 27-year-old Air Force veteran.

The indictment, which District Attorney Robert D. James Jr. of DeKalb County announced at a Thursday night news conference, with Mr. Hill’s family members seated in the first row, was an emotional and surprising development. It played out in this city just east of Atlanta where, it seemed, few people had expected that Officer Olsen would be charged with murder. Mr. James said a judge had issued an arrest warrant and that Officer Olsen would soon be arrested.

“This is a day in history,” said a lawyer for Mr. Hill’s family, Christopher M. Chestnut, who also said, “Hopefully, this will set a precedent for discouraging paramilitary policing.”

More at link


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/22/us/georgia-police-officer-robert-olsen-anthony-hill-shooting.html?_r=0

[hakko936]

1. He shot and killed a naked man.....

.....that is murder. The color of the victim's skin is irrelevant.

[MagickMuffin]

2. This stood out to me

Although Mr. James had announced this month that he would seek an indictment, prosecutors faced an especially complex challenge because of the legal protections that are guaranteed to law enforcement officers in Georgia. Those safeguards, which are among the country’s most extensive, give accused officers access to the grand jury’s meeting, as well as the opportunity to address the panel without the threat of cross-examination or a rebuttal by prosecutors.

I guess we'll have to wait and see where this goes. As the above statement claims the LEO seem to get some pretty special privileges.

Let's just hope that justice prevails.