COWETA COUNTY, Ga. — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is continuing to investigate the shooting death of a Purple Heart recipient last month, one of 11 officer-involved shootings in the state so far this year.
Agents a Coweta County deputy shot and killed 39-year-old Daniel Olsen after he was armed and wouldn’t comply to drop his gun.
Channel 2’s Eryn Rogers was live at the GBI headquarters in DeKalb County for WSB Tonight at 11 p.m.
She spoke to people who knew Olsen, including a man who served with him in Iraq, and got an update on the investigation.
The GBI says it usually takes about 90 days for them to investigate officer-involved shootings.
But friends of Olsen say they want him to be remembered by the life he lived and the sacrifice he made for his country.
“It was painful. It’s still painful. The entire situation is, it’s tough to digest,” Gill Hayon said.
He served in the army with Purple Heart recipient Olsen.
“Daniel and I served in a reconnaissance and sniper platoon. We were deployed to Iraq in 2010 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom,” Hayon said.
Olsen received a Purple Heart after he was injured while serving in Iraq in 2010 early in their deployment.
“There were several combatants who were throwing RKG three grenades at his vehicle. And so one of the grenades actually bounced over on top of the turret, basically, kind of hit him in the head,” Hayon said.
It exploded. “He received a massive amount of shrapnel to his neck and his arms and his face,” Hayon said.
Olsen fought to heal in less than a year and finish his deployment.
“He wanted to make sure we all came home together, and he she made sure that we did so that’s the kind of guy he is,” Hayon said. “That’s, that is exactly how he should be remembered.”
But life after the injury wasn’t always easy for Olsen.
Documents Rogers got from the district attorney’s office show years of mental health treatment and some prior run-ins with law enforcement.
But it culminated on Jan. 8, when the GBI says Olsen shot at a Coweta County deputy. The deputy shot back, killing Olsen.
Agents say it started after another deputy tried to pull him over for a traffic stop earlier that day.
“I think that mental health in regards to military is something that is continuously needs to be worked on. We need to make sure that we take care of each other,” Hayon said.
Hayon told Rogers he’s devastated, “him being gone, and the hole that’s there.”
It’s not only for him but the widow and children Olsen leaves behind.
“That’s a long, long process of healing,” he said.
At the time of the shooting, Olsen was on probation for aggravated assault from 2019.
The DA told Rogers because of Olsen’s history they opted for mental health treatment instead of jail time.
And the DA believes his mental health condition because of his military service played a role in his death.
His family has also started an online fundraiser to help his wife and kids.
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