‘Breakdown’ S07, Ep. 1: ‘They’re here to help me’
The 911 call came in on the afternoon of March 9, 2015.
A naked man was wandering the Heights at Chamblee apartment complex. He was acting erratically.
“Do you need the police or the paramedics?” the dispatcher asked the apartment manager, Griselle Torres.
“Send the police. Better,” Torres said.
What happened next is the subject of the seventh season of our “Breakdown” podcast, hosted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s legal affairs writer, Bill Rankin, and public safety reporter, Christian Boone.
Anthony Hill, the Afghanistan war veteran who was acting so strangely that day, would soon be dead, shot twice by “Chip” Olsen, the DeKalb County police officer who arrived first at the scene.
Olsen would be charged with his murder.
The podcast’s first episode — “They’re Here to Help Me” — goes live Friday.
It takes listeners through the events of that day. And it provides a moving portrait of Hill, a 26-year-old aspiring musician who battled bipolar disorder. You’ll hear from the family and friends who loved him. And you’ll get exclusive access to Hill’s music.
You can download the podcast from iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify or your favorite podcasting platform. Or you can stream it on your computer in the player below.
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About the Authors
Bill Rankin has been an AJC reporter for more than 30 years. His father, Jim Rankin, worked as an editor for the newspaper for 26 years, retiring in 1986. Bill has primarily covered the state’s court system, doing all he can do to keep the scales of justice on an even keel. Since 2015, he has been the host of the newspaper’s Breakdown podcast.
A native Atlantan, Boone joined the AJC staff in 2007. He quickly carved out a niche covering crime stories, assuming the public safety beat in 2014. He's covered some of the biggest trials this decade, from Hemy Neuman to Ross Harris to Chip Olsen, the latter of which was featured on Season 7 of the AJC's award-winning "Breakdown" podcast.
