Mother of slain unarmed veteran demands justice after court overturns ex-officer’s verdict

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - A former DeKalb County police officer convicted after killing a naked, unarmed veteran could soon be a free man. An appeals court overturned the verdict for Robert Olsen. A jury found him guilty back in 2019 on several charges, including aggravated assault and violating oath of office after he shot and killed Anthony Hill. But the appeals court now says prosecutors improperly used evidence. 

Hill’s mother, Carolyn Giummo, feels the justice system failed her family. "I’m still in the fog," Giummo said. "That shocked me. I never saw that coming."

Olsen was a DeKalb County police officer back in 2015. Hill, an air force veteran, had been diagnosed with PTSD and bipolar disorder. Witnesses say Hill was naked and behaving erratically at an apartment complex in Chamblee. Olsen shot and killed Hill, who was unarmed. A jury in 2019 found Olsen guilty of aggravated assault, violating his oath, and making false statements. "We finally got some type of justice," Giummo said.

A judge in 2019 sentenced Olsen to 20 years behind bars with 12 to serve. "Something was better than nothing," Giummo said.

However, an appeals court on Tuesday overturned the conviction. The court ruled prosecutors improperly put the department's full use-of-force policy into evidence. The court says that policy conflicts with the state's self-defense law.  "That’s like an insult to my son like his life didn’t matter," Giummo said.

Giummo feels whatever measure of justice she had gotten has been stripped away. "You have to be held accountable to the fullest," Giummo said. "I lost my son, my only son."

The mother wants Olsen to remain behind bars.

DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston says she will appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court.