DECATUR, Ga. -- A civil grand jury recommended that more investigation is needed in the police shooting death of Anthony Hill.
Hill, 27, a former Air Force veteran, was shot and killed by a DeKalb County Officer Robert Olsen back in March of this year.
The grand jury couldn't reach a consensus about an indictment and recommended "further investigation be conducted to aid in the decision to pursue this case by the [district attorney.]"
Recommendations by the grand jury included conducting a follow-up interview with the first officer on the scene, and a second, more-thorough interview with another officer to clarify that officer's account of events.
The day of the shooting, police received a 911 call about a naked man wandering the apartment complex acting erratically. That man was Hill. According to police, Hill lunged at Officer Olsen in a threatening manner.
According to the Hill family attorney, Christopher Chestnut, Hill was medically discharged in April 2013 after being diagnosed as bipolar. Hill's girlfriend said that he had stop taking his medication.
DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James said that he would take the grand jury's recommendations into consideration and make a decision soon in the Hill case. James said he was "greatly concerned" by some of the facts of the case.
In a separate case, the grand jury recommended that the district attorney not pursue an indictment against an officer in the shooting death of Kevin Davis.Last December, Davis was killed after he called 911 for help when he found that his girlfriend had been attacked. His girlfriend said he was holding a gun when police arrived, thinking the attacker had returned. Officer Joseph Pitts first shot Davis' dog and then shot Davis, according to testimony.
Davis' family issued a statement through their attorney, Mawuli Davis, saying:
"The family of Kevin Davis is devastated by the news and they have vowed to continue fighting for justice for Kevin. We will meet and discuss our next steps in the coming days. The need for a legislative mandate for body cameras is underscored by this decision. The grand jurors were left to rely on the word of the officer. Additionally, the officer's ability to be present and testify is fundamentally unfair."
In all, the grand jury heard five officer-involved shooting cases. In addition to the Hill and Davis cases, the grand jury recommended that the district attorney not pursue charges in the shootings of Eddie Ball Jr. and Ivy Shumake. The two are accused in the December shootings of two DeKalb County Police officers. Ball was injured as officers returned fire. No charges were also recommended in the shooting cases of Royce Flournoy and Austin Leake.
Leake, 20, was shot and killed after a SWAT standoff in December. Police said Leake fired at responding officers and at neighbors who were being evacuated from their homes.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation investigated the cases before handing its findings over to the DeKalb County District Attorney's office.
James decided in June to take all officers-involved shootings to a newly-formed civil grand jury to help provide "more transparency" for the citizens.
The civil grand jury findings are non-biding, meaning James could ignore the jury's decision.
James released the following statement after the grand jury's decisions were announced:
I would like to thank the grand jury for their collective efforts in reviewing multiple officer-involved shooting cases. I take the recommendations of the grand jurors regarding each case before making the ultimate decision on whether or not my office seeks criminal charges. Obviously the grand jurors were not unanimous in their recommendation pertaining to the Anthony Hill case. However, our office will continue to investigate this officer involved shooting case and will make a determination to pursue criminal charges or not. I am familiar with the facts and circumstances pertaining to the Anthony Hill case and have serious concerns regarding this matter. In the matter of Kevin Davis, we will take the recommendation under consideration, review the facts and make a final determination how we will proceed. We believe this grand jury civil review process is essential is increasing the transparency for each and every officer-involved shooting case.
PHOTOS | Anthony Hill
