DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Former DeKalb County officer Robert Olsen is currently on trial for murder in the 2015 shooting death of Anthony Hill.
Hill was naked and unarmed at the time. When Olsen arrived at the apartment complex where the scene was unfolding, responding to a 911 call from concerned onlookers, Hill came out of a crouch and ran towards him.
Witnesses have given conflicting accounts as to whether this was a playful, friendly run, as prosecutors have argued - Hill reportedly said "Good, the police are my friends" when he was told 911 had been called - or a charge threatening "imminent violence," as defense lawyers have claimed.
The seconds-long moments before Hill was shot and killed four years ago are at the center of Olsen's trial.
But what about before that moment? Who was Anthony Hill, and how did he come to be wandering his apartment complex naked and acting erratically?
Who is Anthony Hill?
Anthony Hill was an Air Force veteran who had served in Afghanistan and who at the time of his death, his family said, was experiencing a mental health crisis.
His mother testified his overseas service had left him with PTSD and he was diagnosed with bipolar, and that he was medically retired from the Air Force.
Hill was 26 at the time of his death and living with his girlfriend, Bridget Anderson, at The Heights apartment complex in Chamblee.
He grew up in Moncks Corner, South Carolina and went to the University of South Carolina before he quit to join the Air Force.
He was deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2010. Kandahar, at that time, was the site of frequent suicide bombings and rocket attacks.
When Hill returned to the U.S. after his deployment, he began to struggle with his mental health. His mother said on the day he was killed, he’d stopped taking his medication.
Hill was known around the apartment complex as a friendly guy who liked to interact with kids, and was pursuing a singing career in Atlanta.
In testimony, his mother described him as "very peaceful."
Protesters have been galvanized by Hill's case, gathering outside the courthouse as the trial has progressed and calling for justice. Tensions are running high, and one woman reportedly yelled at Olsen to "rot in hell."
