Georgia Police Shoot, Kill Unarmed Naked Black Veteran

Just after 1 o'clock in the afternoon on Monday, a woman phoned the Dekalb Police Department in Georgia, telling them there was a naked man lying on the ground outside.

According to a police report on the incident, the African-American man appeared "demented". She told police that the man, later identified as Anthony Hill, had been crawling around on the ground outside the apartment complex. He tried to come inside the maintenance office where she was, but she had already locked the door. A couple of maintenance workers stepped in and escorted Mr Hill back to his apartment in the same building.



But he left his apartment, jumping off the second floor balcony, still naked. Mobile phone video footage obtained by a local TV station shows Hill, young and fit but seemingly disoriented, pacing around slowly, and lying on the ground.

These were the last moments of Mr Hill's life. Soon after police arrived on the scene, an officer shot him dead.

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In the days after his death, a picture of Mr Hill, a 27-year-old Air Force veteran who reportedly suffered from mental health problems, has emerged. People in his community and others around the US and on social media, have expressed shock and anger at the shooting, and questioned why lethal force has again been used by a police officer against an unarmed black person.

Dekalb County Chief of Police Cedric Alexander said later in a press conference that Mr Hill had "charged" at the officer before he was killed.

"They observed a nude male out in the parking lot, when the male saw the officer he charged, running at the officer, the officer called him to stop while stepping backwards, drew his weapon and fired two shots," he said.

Dr Alexander said no weapon was found at the scene and the police officer, Robert Olsen, who is white and a seven-year veteran of the force, had a Taser on him at the time.

A witness, Pedro Castillo, told the New York Times he saw Mr Hill on his hands and knees when the police arrived, and that he stood up and moved towards them with his hands out. Mr Castillo told the newspaper the officer appeared "frightened" and yelled for Mr Hill to stop before the shots were fired.




Shock, anger after US police killing of unarmed, naked black veteran Anthony Hill