Lawyers for the former DeKalb County police officer charged with killing a mentally ill veteran argued Friday that the indictment should be dismissed because prosecutors violated the principle of grand jury secrecy.
"If you accept the state's argument, there is nothing that prohibits anyone from coming into the grand jury at their invitation," said Don Samuel, attorney for Robert Olsen, who shot and killed Anthony Hill, naked and unarmed at the time, outside a Chamblee apartment complex in March 2015.
Prosecutor Chris Timmons said the presence of five assistant district attorneys and three investigators was necessitated by the challenges inherent when presenting a case against law enforcement.
“We had to put on a full-court press,” Timmons said. “We had to put up one-half, three-fourths of our case.”
DeKalb Superior Court Judge J.P. Boulee did not rule on the motion to dismiss, saying it required further study.
Last January, Olsen became the first police officer in Georgia in more than five years to be prosecuted in the fatal shooting of a civilian. The officer has said he was in fear for his life when he shot Hill, who was advancing on Olsen, ignoring commands to stop.
Olsen resigned in lieu of termination following his indictment. He is out on bond awaiting trial.
A more complete story will appear later today on myajc.com.
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