Instead of Arresting Him, Albany Authorities Hold Retirement Ceremony for White Cop who Lied About Shooting Ellazer Williams - Shot Black Man in the Back from 20 Ft Away, Causing his Paralysis

Albany Police Detective James Olsen stands outside South Station for a tradition piping out ceremony to mark his retirement on Jan. 4, 2018, in Albany, N.Y.

From [HERE] The city police detective who shot and paralyzed 19-year-old Ellazar Williams during an August foot chase retired Friday after 22 years with the department.

Detective James Olsen announced his intention to retire in late 2018, shortly after an Albany County grand jury declined to indict him on charges related to the shooting. David Soares, a caucasional rolebotic Black DA declined to file any charges against the white cop. [MORE[

Williams contends the white city detective shot him in the back from a distance of 20 feet away as he was running away on 9/25/18.

That contradicts the account that Albany County prosecutors say Detective James Olsen gave their investigators. Olsen, who fired the shot that struck Williams, told the investigators that Williams — armed with a large hunting knife — charged at him in a courtyard outside the former Tony Clement Center for Education at 395 Elk St.

Olsen said he had spotted a "shiny object" in Williams hand moments just before the encounter outside the former Tony Clement Center for Education at 395 Elk St.

Olsen had pursued Williams following a sequence of events that began when Williams and two other people allegedly caused a disturbance outside a store on Central Avenue.

"He yelled for the other detectives to watch (Williams') hands and, as Mr. Williams was running, he tripped onto the concrete and dropped a large hunting knife," Rossi said. "Olsen ordered Mr. Williams to get on the ground. Mr. Williams grabbed the big knife and got back up. At this time, Detective Olsen indicates that Mr. Williams ignored his command and ran in his direction with the knife."

Rossi said Olsen said that at the moment he fired his weapon he believed Williams posed deadly force to himself and other detectives.

Williams' lawyers filed a lawsuit against the city in federal court last month, and also released a video they say proves the teen was a victim of excessive force.

A video released by the attorneys shows Williams running from Olsen, falling and then getting up to run away again before they say the shots were fired. The video does not show the teen moving toward the detective. In the video he is approximately 20 feet away from the white cop and fleeing from him.

Williams currently faces a felony charge of menacing a police officer and misdemeanor weapons possession. He is paralyzed from the chest down.

Ellazar Williams still has a bullet lodged in his spine. He is still paralyzed from the chest down. He still suffers severe back pain. He is confined to a bed set up in the living room of his girlfriend's second-floor apartment. He has not been outside in two months. It is difficult for two men to carry him up and down the steep, narrow stairway. Medical transport workers said it is too dangerous to navigate the stairs, which has led to canceled doctor appointments. His girlfriend does not own a car. They live on a South End street punctuated by abandoned buildings marked by a red X.