(CNN) — A former Georgia police officer who killed a mentally ill, unarmed and naked black man was sentenced to 12 years in prison Friday on charges that included aggravated assault.
DeKalb County Superior Court Judge LaTisha Dear Jackson sentenced Robert “Chip” Olsen to a 20-year term, with 12 years to be served in custody.
Prosecutors had asked the court for a 25-year sentence with five years probation.
A jury last month acquitted Olsen of murder in the March 2015 death of 26-year-old Afghanistan war veteran Anthony Hill but found him guilty of aggravated assault, making a false statement and two counts of violation of oath.
Jurors deliberated for more than a week.
Olsen faced up to 35 years in prison.
Before sentencing, the court heard from Hill’s mother, father and sister.
“The decision Robert Olsen made that day changed my life forever,” said his mother, Carolyn Baylor Giummo. “It was the worst day of my life.”
Anthony Hill, Sr., lamented that the defendant never once looked him in the eye with an expression of remorse.
Olsen did not address the court before his sentencing.
Before the shooting, someone in Hill’s neighborhood called police to report a man was “acting deranged, knocking on doors, and crawling around on the ground naked,” then-DeKalb County Police Chief Cedric Alexander said then.
Olsen was dispatched, and “when (Hill) 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,” Alexander said.
Defense attorney Amanda Clark Palmer said Olsen, who worked for the DeKalb County police, was “a good cop who had to make a tough decision.”
Hill’s girlfriend previously said he had a history of mental illness and struggled to get the support he needed from the Department of Veterans Affairs. He had stopped taking his medication shortly before his death, she said.
During closing arguments, the prosecution claimed Olsen did not follow protocol for using force. Assistant District Attorney Lance Cross said Olsen could have used a baton on Hill.
