DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A local veterans group is outraged after a former DeKalb County Police Officer, previously convicted of fatally shooting an Air Force veteran in 2015, was recently granted bond.
Robert Olsen was convicted in 2019 on charges of aggravated assault, violation of oath of public office and making false statements in the death of military veteran Anthony Hill during a 911 response call. Olson was acquitted of felony murder in the trial and was sentenced to 20 years, with the first 12 to serve in custody.
The conviction was later overturned due to multiple errors in the "admission and treatment" of the Use of Force Policy (UFP) in DeKalb County. This allowed him to request a bond, which was granted.
The Justice4Veterans organization held a news conference outside the DeKalb County courthouse Friday amid efforts to move the case to the state's highest court.
The group voiced its disapproval, saying it was "not pleased" with the decision to grant Olsen a bond.
"This was blatant murder. That's what it was. He should've been convicted, but he wasn't," Amos King said.
When the case was overturned, the court also ruled that Olsen could be retried on the count of aggravated assault. It added he could not be retried for his violation of oath of public office charge because the evidence was "legally insufficient."
King said that Hill was unarmed during the incident and going through a mental health crisis, which didn't warrant the use of force.
"Anthony Hill had no weapon, he was no threat, and he didn't deserve what he got," he said. [He] was an American hero. He's a veteran, twice deployed. He came back and fought for his country. He didn't do anything wrong. He was mentally ill."
Following the ruling, the DeKalb County District Attorney's office promised to appeal the court's decision to Georgia's Supreme Court.
"My office strongly opposed bond for former DeKalb County Police Officer Robert Olsen on charges connected to the death of Anthony Hill. Despite our objections, he was granted an appeal bond while we await a decision from the Georgia Supreme Court on whether they will hear our appeal," DeKalb District Attorney Sherry Boston said in a statement to 11Alive.