Protesters Plan Gathering in Decatur Following Fatal Officer-Involved Shooting

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Protesters are expected to gather outside Decatur Square on Wednesday afternoon to demonstrate against perceived excessive force by the DeKalb County Police Department in two recent shooting deaths.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, protest organizers said that the purpose of the 6 p.m. gathering is to raise awareness and celebrate Anthony Hill, Kevin Davis, and “countless others taken from us too soon” by police violence. Hill and Davis were shot and killed by DeKalb police officers in unrelated incidents several months apart.

On Dec. 29, Officer Joseph Pitts shot and killed Kevin Davis after Pitts allegedly killed Davis’ dog. Davis had called 911 to report that his roommate had stabbed his girlfriend, and he said he assumed that the gunshots he heard came from the roommate returning to the apartment complex off of Covington Highway.

The shots were fired by Pitts, who killed Davis’ dog after it tried to attack him, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said.

Davis was armed, intent on protecting his girlfriend, but he never brought his firearm to bear on the officer, DeKalb’s police chief Dr. Cedric Alexander said. After Davis refused to drop the gun, Pitts shot and killed him.

On Monday, Officer Robert Olson confronted a naked man who was acting strangely at The Heights at Chamblee apartments. The naked man, 27-year-old Anthony Hill, was an Air Force veteran who had admitted to having mental health issues. According to Alexander, Hill rushed Olson, who fired at the oncoming man after he refused orders to stop. Hill was unarmed.

Alexander has requested that the GBI take over the investigations of both shootings in order to provide a transparent and unbiased outcome.