UPDATE: The DeKalb County district attorney has scheduled a press conference for 7:30 p.m. Thursday to discuss the grand jury proceedings in the case of a county police officer who shot and killed a naked civilian. Return to ajc.com for updates.
EARLIER STORY: The grand jury deciding whether a DeKalb County police officer will be charged in connection with the shooting of a naked civilian has yet to begin deliberations, and it's unclear for now whether jurors will choose to stay late today or return on Friday.
The prosecution’s last witness had taken the stand as of 5 p.m. Thursday. After that, county police Officer Robert Olsen has the option of testifying in his own behalf.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has just learned Olsen is being represented by veteran criminal defense attorney Don Samuel, whose past clients include football stars Ray Lewis and Ben Roethlisberger and rapper/actor T.I.
The grand jurors have the option of working as late as they want tonight. The panel is charged with deciding whether Olsen should become the first Georgia cop in more than five years to face prosecution in the shooting death of a civilian.
The 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 -- to remind the grand jury they'll be watching.
An indictment of a police officer in a use-of-force case is rare, in part because of a special exemption granted to law enforcement officers in Georgia enabling them to be present during the entire grand jury proceeding and make a statement without cross-examination.
Olsen has said 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 indicted a police officer in a fatal shooting only once since 2010, and that indictment was dismissed the next day by the district attorney. There have been 187 fatal shootings by police officers during that period.
Return to ajc.com for updates.
About the Author
