DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The state has rested in the trial of a DeKalb County cop charged with murder in the shooting death of a naked and unarmed Afghanistan war veteran.
Prosecutors called 14 witnesses who testified against Robert "Chip" Olsen" over the last four days.
The final witness was DeKalb Officer Lyn Anderson, who arrived at the scene soon after Olsen killed Anthony Hill on March 9, 2015.
Defense attorney Don Samuel asked for a directed verdict, which would effectively mean that the prosecution had not made its case and Olsen would be found not guilty. Such motions are rarely granted.
DeKalb Superior Court Judge LaTisha Dear Jackson said she would rule on the notion Thursday, indicating she was not dismissing the motions out of hand.
In the event the motion is dismissed, the defense could begin making its case. They could also call no witnesses.
Before leaving for the day, Dear Jackson also informed Olsen, 57, that he has the right to testify in his own defense. He will announce Thursday whether he will do so.
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Did former Dekalb County police officer Robert "Chip" Olsen exhaust "all means available of nonlethal force" prior to shooting Anthony Hill in March 2015?
That's a question Olsen's defense team didn't want asked, objecting to any mention of DeKalb police's use of force policy.
Judge LaTisha Dear Jackson allowed it, with provisions, telling jurors they may use the policy only to assess the reasonableness of Olsen's decision to shoot the mentally- ill Afghanistan War veteran. Olsen has claimed Hill left him no choice.
Olsen was dispatched to The Heights of Chamblee apartments after Hill, off his meds, stripped naked and strolled around the complex grounds in the middle of the day.
Of the witnesses who conversed with or observed Hill that day, none testified they viewed him as a threat. Olsen, five inches taller, 40 pounds heavier, felt otherwise as Hill ran in his direction, ignoring his commands to stop.
Why did he opt for deadly force?
Olsen said nonlethal options were not viable, for various reasons."I guess there was some speculation and individuals asked, ‘Well why didn't you Tase him?'" Olsen said in an interview with GBI investigators, one week after Hill's death.
"Based on my training, the situation, what I observed this individual, that was not a viable option."
The man who trained him disagreed, testifying Wednesday that Olsen could've stopped Hill with his Taser or baton.
The defendant had been extensively trained on the use of both, said DeKalb Police Sgt. JK Walker.
"This is by far the state's strongest witness," said Atlanta attorney Esther Panitch, who was in the courtroom. She is not involved in the case.
Earlier Wednesday, the defense questioned GBI agent Clint Thomas, whose 2015 interview with Olsen was replayed Tuesday.
Olsen's lawyers have maintained their client was "scared to death" of Hill.
But Olsen never said that during the interview, though, as defense co-counsel Amanda Clark Palmer noted, he was never asked.
"Am I correct that the reason you didn't ask him is because it was implied to you that Officer Olsen was scared for his life?" she asked.
"I don't know if I would say it was implied," Thomas said.
"I understood him to explain that he was concerned because Anthony Hill was closing distance on him rapidly. At one point I believe he references inertia, being knocked down. So that's the way I was understanding it -- that he was expressing there was some threat of force."But no, I was not taking it that he was in fear of his life."
Cox Media Group
