The jury in the case of a white Georgia former cop accused of murdering an unarmed and naked Black veteran was utterly confused for a second day.
The judge presiding over the trial didn’t have time for it on Tuesday.
Judge LaTisha Dear Jackson was splitting time between a rape trial she was presiding over and answering juror questions in the case of Robert “Chip” Olsen.
At one point, the judge cleared the rape trial’s jury pool and brought attorneys in that case in to the Olsen trial “to address the jury’s questions,” WSB Radio reporter Veronica Waters tweeted Tuesday.
Still, jurors repeatedly knocked on the door to their jury room to get a court official’s attention, Waters reported.
“Whatever is going on in that jury room, they want to be heard now,” she tweeted. “They just knocked on the door again, but the judge is back to overseeing (oh and yet another knock; Judge says ‘Tell them I’m working on it’) a rape trial jury selection #OlsenTrial #AnthonyHill @wsbradio.”
Olsen was charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, violation of oath of office and making a false statement in the death of 26-year-old Afghanistan war veteran Anthony Hill March 9, 2015.
Related: Georgia Judge Denies Motion to Drop Charges Against Cop Who Shot, Killed Anthony Hill
Olsen shot Hill while responding to a domestic disturbance call at an apartment complex in DeKalb County, a suburb of Atlanta, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Upon arrival, the former officer found Hill roaming naked around the community and exhibiting “odd” behavior. Hill’s family asserted that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and was likely having a manic episode at the time.
While officers tried to subdue him, Olsen claimed Hill lunged toward him, prompting him to shoot the Air Force veteran.
The jury, composed of seven women and five men, started deliberations in the case Friday, according to The Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Jurors, however are having a hard time agreeing on some of the criminal counts against Olsen.
The jury asked on Monday if it could find Olsen guilty of violation of oath of office but not felony murder, and the judge replied that they could, according to 11 Alive.
They jury also asked to listen to Olsen’s interview with the GBI about the shooting, the news station reported. It later tried to throw its hands up on the whole process with a note to the judge.
“We have found unanimity on some of the charges but not others,” the jury said in the note.
“We see no possibility in reconciling the others. Please advise.”
Dear Jackson ordered jurors to give deliberations another try, but a unanimous decision was reportedly still a no-go by Tuesday afternoon.
“I am baffled. Has the #OlsenTrial jury not had any instructions with them the whole time,” Waters tweeted. “Defense says, “Let’s make sure they have a copy of the indictment” and anything else important #AnthonyHill @wsbradio.”
