DECATUR, Ga. (AP) – Residents in the Atlanta area are adding their voices to a nationwide chorus of calls for increased police accountability after an unarmed, naked man was fatally shot by an officer responding to a complaint of a suspicious person at an apartment complex.
More than 100 protesters gathered in the city of Decatur on Wednesday night to protest the death of Anthony Hill, 27. Most said they hoped the latest shooting would become part of an ongoing national discussion on how police officers interact with citizens, especially minorities.
The relationship between law enforcement and civilians – particularly in poor, minority and high-crime neighborhoods – has become a contentious issue in many states across the U.S. following the high-profile deaths of unarmed men and teens by police officers, some of whom have been exonerated of wrongdoing after saying they perceived the males they shot as threats.
DeKalb County police officer Robert Olsen fatally shot Hill on Monday while responding to reports of a suspicious person knocking on doors and crawling on the ground naked at an apartment complex just outside Atlanta. Hill began running toward Olsen and didn’t stop when ordered to, DeKalb County Chief of Police Cedric Alexander told reporters Monday.
Hill is black and the officer who shot him is white. No weapon was found and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into the shooting. Alexander has acknowledged the national debate surrounding police shootings and said he wanted to make sure this investigation is transparent, open and fair.