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LOCAL
THE CHAMPION, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14 - 20, 2019 • Page 6
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DECATUR
Students planned to walk out to attend the sentencing of a former Dekalb County police
officer who shot an unarmed man. Photos provided
Students respond to Olsen sentencing with walk out
'It's not just an adult issue; soon it's going to be our issue'
DeKalb County Superior Court
Judge LaTisha Dear Jackson
sentenced Olsen to 20 years Nov. 1.
We came hoping that our
presence sends a message
to the jurors, judges, lawyers,
officers and everyone going
in and out the courthouse
that the youth care that our
justice system. 1
Daxton Pettus
BY TAYLOR ROBINS
taylor@dekalbchamp.com
The Black Student Union (BSU)
of Decatur High School led a group
of students to the DeKalb County
Courthouse to show support for
Anthony Hill, during school hours,
Nov. 1.
Hill was shot and killed by
former DeKalb County Police
Officer Robert Olsen in 2015. Hill
was a veteran who was unarmed
and naked at the time. Olsen was
indicted by a DeKalb County
grand jury in 2016. In October,
Olsen was found not guilty on two
counts of felony murder and guilty
of aggravated assault, making
false statements and two counts of
violation of oath of office.
“We came hoping that our
presence sends a message to the
jurors, judges, lawyers, officers
and everyone going in and out
the courthouse that the youth
care that our justice system, take
responsibility for their actions and
act according to the law. We want
them to abide by the very words
we hear in the morning every day:
liberty and justice for all,” Decatur
High School junior and Black
Student Union Co-President Daxton
Pettus said.
Olsen will serve 12 years in custody
and will serve the remaining eight
years on probation.
“Personally I think this goes to
show that cops are ultimately put
ahead of citizens. Even though the
police were put in place to protect
citizens, at the end of the day they
are going to protect themselves,”
said Pettus. “Olsen not getting his
full 35-year sentence just shows
us that police have the badge
of approval to do anything they
want and there’ll be little to no
consequence.”
Pettus said
the group went in
support of Hill’s
family and to show
the public that
youth care about
social issues and
the justice system.
“Our voice
should be heard
as much as
other people,”
said Pettus. “Us
showing up added
diversity to the
people who also
showed up to
protest; mostly
adults were there.
It’s not just an
adult issue; soon
it’s going to be our issue.”
Pettus said the issue is the
justice system not being held
accountable for certain actions, such
as unnecessary force and police
brutality
“We think we need to be there
for these issues because we are
going to play a part in what happens
to our justice system,” said Pettus.
“We need to take a step up and
make sure that our justice system is
doing the right thing.”
Pettus is an aspiring politician
who wants to “recreate the rules.”
Although Pettus said he thinks
the country is progressing with the
justice system indicting, convicting
and sentencing police officers who
shoot unarmed people, he added
that he does not think the country
and justice system are progressing
at the speed it should.
“The fact that officers are
shooting unarmed people and
getting small sentences is crazy It
shouldn’t be an issue.”
By going to the sentencing,
Pettus said, the group made a small
difference.
“Each student will go and talk
about Hill and widen the knowledge
about what happened and open
people’s mind about it,” said Pettus.
Now that the sentencing has
passed, BSU plans to continue
its research on police brutality by
keeping up with current incidents in
the country. The group also wants
to educate all students who attend
Decatur High School about the
topic. Pettus said that spreading
the word could “widen the web of
people who care about the issue.”
The students returned to school
after joining local activists at the
DeKalb County Courthouse.
