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The Official Legal Organ of DeKafb County, GA. Serving East Atlanta, Avondale Estates, Brookhaven, Ctiamblee, Clarkston, Decatur, Doravi lie, Dun woody, Lithonia, Pine Lake, Tucker and Stone Mountain.
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2007, 2009-2015
SECTION A: VOL 25 NO. 29 JANUARY 14 - 20,2016 500
DeKalb County District Attorney Robert Janies announced Jan. 7 that he will seek an indictment against a county
police officer who fatally shot an unarmed man. Photo by Andrew Cauthen
DA seeks murder charges against officer
Denise Butler posted this photo of her
son, Jimariya Davidson, on Facebook
on Nov. 7,2015. Davidson committed
suicide while in solitary confinement on
April 5,2015.
Lawsuit filed
after teen's
death in
detention center
by Carla Parker
carla@dekalbchamp.com
A teenage boy, who commit
ted suicide while in custody at the
Metro Regional Youth Detention
Center, was “grossly mistreated”
and held in “deplorable condi
tions” before his death, according
to a lawsuit.
A federal lawsuit was filed
Dec. 7, 2015, by attorneys Mat
thew Harman and Eric Fred
rickson on behalf of the estate of
14-year-old Jimariya Davidson
and his parents Jimmy Davidson
and Denise Butler. According to
the lawsuit, Davidson was placed
in solitary confinement on April 3,
2015; staff was ordered to release
him from solitary confinement the
next day but did not.
“In violation of law, policy and
basic human rights, J.D. was kept
in solitary confinement for days
with no exercise, showers or even
a functioning toilet,” the lawsuit
stated.
Davidson committed suicide
April 5 by hanging himself from
the ceiling. Before his death, Da
vidson told the officer on duty—
Adrian Cooper—that he was
going to commit suicide, his fifth
attempt in “a matter of weeks,” ac-
See Lawsuit on Page 15A
by Andrew Cauthen
Andrew@dekalbchamp.com
A DeKalb County police officer
who fatally shot an unarmed, naked
man in March 2015 will face a crimi
nal grand jury later this month.
DeKalb County District Attorney
Robert James announced Jan. 7 that
he would seek an indictment against
DeKalb County Police Officer Robert
Olsen on two counts of felony mur
der, aggravated assault, two counts of
violation of oath of office by a public
officer, and one count of making a
false statement.
Anthony Hill, 27, was shot by Ol
sen, who responded to The Heights at
Chamblee apartment complex around
1 p.m. March 9, 2015, on a call about
a man acting “deranged,” knocking on
apartment doors and crawling on the
ground, Cedric Alexander, deputy
chief operating officer for public
safety, said at a news conference after
the incident.
When asked if the shooting was
justified, James said, “A crime was
committed. That is our position.”
In October 2015, a civil grand
jury stated that it was “unable to
reach a consensus on recommending
indictment because there were con
tradictions and inconsistencies in the
testimonies presented.”
'A crime was
committee.
”hat is our
oosition.'
-Robert James
The grand jury recommended
that “further investigation be con
ducted to aid in the decision to pur
sue this case by” James.
October 2015 the DA’s office pre
sented the case to a civil grand jury.
“Our office has worked tirelessly
reviewing evidence and interviewing
witnesses to reach a decision in this
case,” James said.
“The facts and circumstances sur
rounding the shooting death of An
thony Hill warrant a charge for felony
murder,” James said. “Ultimately
it’s going to be up to a grand jury as
to whether or not Officer Olsen is
charged with felony murder.
“We will be presenting this case to
a criminal grand jury and seeking an
indictment on Jan. 21,” he said. The
grand jury will make a decision im
mediately.
Hill’s girlfriend, Bridget Ander
son, said she and his family “are very
elated with the decision of [seeking]
the indictment.”
“Officer Olsen killed my best
friend, my boyfriend,” Anderson said.
“He was an amazing person. We’re
coming up on 10 months since his
death and I didn’t think this was go
ing to happen just because of all of
the other cases.
“Anthony Hill was a veteran,”
Anderson said. “He was completely
naked. He was most definitely un
armed and I’m glad the DA came to
the decision of this. I’m glad we have
an officer off the streets who murders
people because he’s hiding behind a
badge.”
Anderson said she would con
tinue protesting against unjustified,
officer-involved shootings.
“We’re going to keep his story
alive,” she said. “We have to keep his
spirit alive and let everybody know
what kind of person he was and let
people know he’s not just some un
armed, naked man. He does have a
name. His name is Anthony Hill.”
{^CHAMPIONNEWSPAPER CHAMPIONNEWS ^CHAMPIONNEWSPAPER
