A grand jury on Thursday will decide whether DeKalb County Police Officer Robert Olsen should become the first Georgia cop in more than five years to face prosecution for the shooting death of a civilian.
The fatal shooting last March of Afghanistan War veteran Anthony Hill, who was nude at the time and obviously unarmed, has emerged as a litmus test in the ongoing debate over excessive use of force. And protesters began gathering Monday outside the DeKalb courthouse - staging a round-the-clock vigil in bitter cold temperatures - to remind the grand jury they’ll be watching.
But as demonstrator Cai O’Reilly-Green noted, “It’s not just about Anthony Hill.” Other police shootings, she said, deserve scrutiny, too.
Cases like Jayvis Benjamin’s. Three years and three days ago, the unarmed 20-year-old was shot and killed by Avondale Estates Police Sgt. Lynn Thomas. Last April, a civil grand jury “strongly” recommended Thomas face criminal charges.
DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James said then he would pursue an indictment, likely within the following two months. But more than eight months later, the case has yet to brought before a criminal grand jury. A spokeswoman told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the case remains under investigation.
In Hill’s case, by contrast, the civil grand jury was split on whether an indictment was warranted.
Montye Benjamin, Jayvis’ mother, said she’s received no explanation why her son’s case has been set aside.
“It’s more than frustrating,” she said Wednesday. “I haven’t heard anything from them since the grand jury (in May).”
Her attorney, Patrick Michael Megaro, said James has not responded to his requests for an update.
Avondale Estates police alleged Benjamin stole a car and was speeding before running a light and crashing. He was shot once in the chest, according to police, after Benjamin attacked the officer.
Megaro said the car was not stolen and said video exists that shows Benjamin was not threatening the police officer.
“Obviously the grand jury agreed,” he said.
A civil grand jury did not recommend prosecution of the officer who shot Kevin Davis in December 2014. But the case remains a controversial one and James said, despite the grand jury’s decision, he planned a more thorough investigation.
But Delisa Davis, Kevin Davis’ sister, said she feels like the prosecutor’s office has “blown us off.”
“It’s so disheartening,” she said.
James told The AJC recently that Davis’ case has not been closed.
Davis had called 911 to report that his girlfriend, April Edwards, was stabbed by a roommate. DeKalb police office Joseph Pitts was dispatched to the apartment, but said he was met by Davis’ dog when he arrived. The officer shot the animal.
Davis, who had not been told that police had arrived, retrieved his gun and went to the door of his apartment to investigate. He had not pointed the gun at the officer but didn’t drop it as ordered.
“It was him or me,” Pitts told the grand jury, according to courtroom witnesses.
Delisa Davis has become close with Montye Benjamin and Bridget Anderson, Hill’s girlfriend. She said she’s glad James is seeking an indictment of Olsen but accused the D.A. of “picking and choosing.”
“The only reason he’s doing something on Anthony Hill is because it was so blatant,” Davis said.
Blatant or not, an indictment is no slam dunk thanks to a special exemption granted to law enforcement in Georgia allowing them to observe all of the grand jury testimony and make a statement without cross-examination. Olsen told the civil grand jury he believed Hill was high on PCP or bath salts and shot him because he feared for his safety.
In Georgia, a grand jury has signed off an indictment only once in the past five years, and that indictment was dismissed the next day by the district attorney. There have been 184 police-involved shootings in that period.
Acknowledging that, protesters outside the DeKalb courthouse said they felt it was important to make their presence known. A guy in a van honked Wednesday morning as he drove past their scattering of tents. Nelini Stamp acknowledged the horn with a quick wave of a gloved hand.
For Stamp, the passing motorist’s single tap of the horn button was proof that she and a handful of others were doing the right thing.
“The best thing is to make a dramatic impression.”” said Stamp. She nodded toward the tents, maybe a dozen in all. Their flaps rustled in the icy breeze.
Hill’s case is a reminder that the mentally ill don’t get adequate care, said the Rev. Jeffery Benoit, head of a local chapter of the National Action Network. The New York-based organization’s founder is the Rev. Al Sharpton.
“The injustice is that sickness was held as a crime,” Benoit said. “He (Hill) was about of out of his mind. He (Olsen) took him out of his life.”
Benoit and others paused as they heard intermittent tapping on their tents. Raindrops, silver and cold. Everyone jumped to cover cereal boxes, doughnuts and a container of coffee. It would be a long day.
“Vigils,” Benoit said, “are never comfortable.”
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