“A state investigation of the shooting is underway. But according to friends and family, Mr. Hill had been told by doctors that he had bipolar disorder after returning from Afghanistan. They believe that his bizarre antics before the shooting — in which he removed his clothes and repeatedly jumped from a second-floor balcony — were symptoms of his illness.
In Moncks Corner, the grief and anger commingled with incredulity. Mr. Hill was the last man anyone would ever have expected to tangle with the police, they said. And he deserved better.
“To come home from Afghanistan and be killed by someone who’s supposed to protect you – that I don’t understand,” said James A. Hill, 29, Mr. Hill’s brother.
“Why would you go directly to deadly force for someone who clearly does not have a weapon?” said his father, who is also named Anthony Hill.
“I don’t hate him,” said Mr. Hill’s mother, Carolyn Giummo, referring to Officer Olsen, who has been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. “I’m very disappointed in him.””
It’s weird to think about how many stories are being told now that were just ignored before. Or not ignored- disconnected, lacking a mainstream narrative that it could be clipped to so that it could be told. In addition to race, there is a lot here about mental healthcare and the deadly prejudice that surrounds mental illness.
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