Police spokespersons never said "olive-skinned"; like I said that was a result of a bogus WingNutDaily article (I suspect the incompetents at WND were fooled by someone pretending to be connected to or having knowledge of the case. Or, they just made the story up):
D.C. SNIPER TERROR
Police suppress
terrorism angle
ATF official: Releasing descriptions
of Mideast suspects would cause 'panic'
Posted: October 16, 2002
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Paul Sperry
© 2002 WorldNetDaily.com
WASHINGTON Several witnesses to the Beltway sniper shootings over the past two weeks have described suspects resembling Middle-Eastern men, but authorities have played down the Islamic terrorism angle to avoid mass "panic" in the area, an ATF official told WorldNetDaily.
"That angle is actually being looked at, and the FBI has the lead on it," said the official, who is working with the sniper-murders task force based in Maryland's Montgomery County, where the first five shootings took place.