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What We Know About the Shooting Death of Ahmaud Arbery What We Know About the Shooting Death of Ahmaud Arbery
(4 months later)
ATLANTA — For months after the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man who was pursued by armed white residents of a coastal South Georgia neighborhood, no arrests were made. ATLANTA — For months after the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was pursued by armed white residents of a coastal South Georgia neighborhood on Feb. 23, no arrests were made.
But after an article by The New York Times, the release of a video of the February confrontation, and increased attention from lawmakers, celebrities and civil rights activists, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation stepped in. But after an article by The New York Times, the release of a video of the confrontation, and increased attention from lawmakers, celebrities and civil rights activists, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation stepped in.
The police arrested two men, Gregory McMichael and his son Travis McMichael, on Thursday and charged them with murder and aggravated assault in the killing of Mr. Arbery. The state agency said Travis McMichael had fired the fatal shots. The police arrested two men, Gregory McMichael and his son Travis McMichael, on May 7 and charged them with murder and aggravated assault in the killing of Mr. Arbery. The state agency said Travis McMichael had fired the fatal shots.
[Read more about the Satilla Shores subdivision where Ahmaud Arbery was killed.] The man who filmed the death, William Bryan, 50, was arrested two weeks later and charged with felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.
Days before the arrests, a video that appears to show the deadly struggle between Mr. Arbery and one of his pursuers went viral. The same day, the prosecutor handling the case, Tom Durden of Georgia’s Atlantic Judicial Circuit, said that a grand jury should decide whether criminal charges are warranted for the people involved in Mr. Arbery’s death.
On Saturday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published another video that shows a man walking into a house under construction in the neighborhood and eventually running out of it. The G.B.I. is reviewing that video, the newspaper reported, to put together a timeline of Mr. Arbery’s afternoon. In June, Judge Wallace E. Harrell of Glynn County Magistrate Court determined that sufficient probable cause existed to support the murder charges against the three men. At the same hearing, a Georgia investigator testified that Travis McMichael had been heard using a racist slur moments after firing the shotgun blasts that killed Mr. Arbery.
Another prosecutor, who recused himself from the case last month, had argued to the local police that arrests were not warranted because the father and son who were chasing Mr. Arbery were acting within Georgia’s citizen arrest and self-defense statutes. Later in June, a grand jury returned an indictment with nine counts against each of the three defendants: malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment. They face life sentences without parole.
The Georgia attorney general on Sunday asked federal officials to initiate a sweeping investigation, going beyond the circumstances of the fatal encounter in February to the way local law enforcement officials and prosecutors had handled the case as months elapsed without arrests. Officials from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said after the arrests last week that the purview of their inquiry did not extend that broadly. Mr. Arbery died months before the killing of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis sparked nationwide protests, even during the raging coronavirus pandemic. But Mr. Arbery’s death gained even greater prominence as the protests put race relations at the center of the national conversation.
[Read more about the third person charged in Ahmaud Arbery’s death.] The Georgia attorney general asked federal officials in May to initiate a sweeping investigation, going beyond the circumstances of the fatal encounter in February to the way local law enforcement officials and prosecutors had handled the case as months passed without arrests. Officials from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said after the arrests that the purview of their inquiry did not extend that broadly.
“We are committed to a complete and transparent review of how the Ahmaud Arbery case was handled from the outset,” the attorney general, Chris Carr, said in a statement. “The family, the community and the state of Georgia deserve answers.” “We are committed to a complete and transparent review of how the Ahmaud Arbery case was handled from the outset,” Georgia’s attorney general, Chris Carr, said in a statement. “The family, the community and the state of Georgia deserve answers.”
For weeks, the killing was not widely known about outside of Glynn County, Ga., where it occurred, in part because the coronavirus-related lockdowns distracted the nation and made local public protests difficult. The case resonated in troubling and familiar ways, raising questions about racial profiling, the interpretation of self-defense laws and the wisdom of citizen policing.
Now the case is resonating in troubling and familiar ways, raising questions about racial profiling, the interpretation of self-defense laws and the wisdom of citizen policing. Here is what we know — and don’t know — about the case.
This is what we know — and don’t know — about the case:
Mr. Arbery, 25, was a former high school football standout who was living with his mother outside the small city of Brunswick. He was shot dead in a suburban neighborhood called Satilla Shores. Friends and family said he liked to stay in good shape, and he was often seen jogging in and around his neighborhood.Mr. Arbery, 25, was a former high school football standout who was living with his mother outside the small city of Brunswick. He was shot dead in a suburban neighborhood called Satilla Shores. Friends and family said he liked to stay in good shape, and he was often seen jogging in and around his neighborhood.
On Sunday, Feb. 23, shortly after 1 p.m., he was killed in a neighborhood a short jog away from his home after being confronted by a white man and his son. On Sunday, Feb. 23, shortly after 1 p.m., he was killed in a neighborhood a short jog from his home after being confronted by a white man and his son.
Mr. Arbery was running in Satilla Shores when a man standing in his front yard saw him go by, according to a police report. The man, Gregory McMichael, said he thought Mr. Arbery looked like a man suspected in several break-ins in the area and called to his son, Travis McMichael.Mr. Arbery was running in Satilla Shores when a man standing in his front yard saw him go by, according to a police report. The man, Gregory McMichael, said he thought Mr. Arbery looked like a man suspected in several break-ins in the area and called to his son, Travis McMichael.
According to the police report, the men grabbed a .357 Magnum handgun and a shotgun, got into a pickup truck and chased Mr. Arbery, trying unsuccessfully to cut him off. A third man was also involved in the pursuit, according to the police report and other documents.According to the police report, the men grabbed a .357 Magnum handgun and a shotgun, got into a pickup truck and chased Mr. Arbery, trying unsuccessfully to cut him off. A third man was also involved in the pursuit, according to the police report and other documents.
In a recording of a 911 call, which appears to have been made moments before the chase began, a neighbor told a dispatcher that a black man was inside a house that was under construction on the McMichaels’ block. In a recording of a 911 call, which appears to have been made moments before the chase began, a neighbor told a dispatcher that a Black man was inside a house that was under construction on the McMichaelses’ block.
During the chase, the McMichaels yelled, “Stop, stop, we want to talk to you,” according to Gregory McMichael’s account in the police report. They then pulled up to Mr. Arbery, and Travis McMichael got out of the truck with the shotgun. During the chase, the McMichaelses yelled, “Stop, stop, we want to talk to you,” according to Gregory McMichael’s account in the police report. They then pulled up to Mr. Arbery, and Travis McMichael got out of the truck with the shotgun.
Gregory McMichael “stated the unidentified male began to violently attack Travis and the two men then started fighting over the shotgun at which point Travis fired a shot and then a second later there was a second shot,” the report states.Gregory McMichael “stated the unidentified male began to violently attack Travis and the two men then started fighting over the shotgun at which point Travis fired a shot and then a second later there was a second shot,” the report states.
The police report and other documents obtained by The New York Times do not indicate that Mr. Arbery was armed.The police report and other documents obtained by The New York Times do not indicate that Mr. Arbery was armed.
Gregory McMichael is a former Glynn County police officer and a former investigator with the local district attorney’s office who retired last May.Gregory McMichael is a former Glynn County police officer and a former investigator with the local district attorney’s office who retired last May.
Shortly after the shooting, the prosecutor for the Brunswick Judicial Circuit, Jackie Johnson, recused herself because Gregory McMichael had worked in her office.Shortly after the shooting, the prosecutor for the Brunswick Judicial Circuit, Jackie Johnson, recused herself because Gregory McMichael had worked in her office.
The case was sent to George E. Barnhill, the district attorney in Waycross, Ga., who later recused himself from the case after Mr. Arbery’s mother argued that he had a conflict because his son also works for the Brunswick district attorney. The case was sent to George E. Barnhill, the district attorney in Waycross, Ga., who later recused himself from the case after Mr. Arbery’s mother argued that he had a conflict because his son also worked for the Brunswick district attorney.
But before he relinquished the case, Mr. Barnhill wrote a letter to the Glynn County Police Department. In the letter, which was obtained by The Times, he argued that there was not sufficient probable cause to arrest Mr. Arbery’s pursuers.But before he relinquished the case, Mr. Barnhill wrote a letter to the Glynn County Police Department. In the letter, which was obtained by The Times, he argued that there was not sufficient probable cause to arrest Mr. Arbery’s pursuers.
Mr. Barnhill noted that the McMichaels were legally carrying their firearms under Georgia’s open carry law. He said the pursuers had been within their rights to pursue what he called “a burglary suspect” and cited a state law that says, “A private person may arrest an offender if the offense is committed in his presence or within his immediate knowledge.” Mr. Barnhill noted that the McMichaelses were legally carrying their firearms under Georgia’s open-carry law. He said they had been within their rights to pursue what he called “a burglary suspect” and cited a state law that says, “A private person may arrest an offender if the offense is committed in his presence or within his immediate knowledge.”
Mr. Barnhill also argued that if Mr. Arbery attacked Travis McMichael, Mr. McMichael was “allowed to use deadly force to protect himself” under Georgia law.Mr. Barnhill also argued that if Mr. Arbery attacked Travis McMichael, Mr. McMichael was “allowed to use deadly force to protect himself” under Georgia law.
Anger over the killing and the lack of consequences for the McMichaels grew when a graphic video surfaced, showing the shooting on a suburban road. Anger over the killing and the lack of consequences for the McMichaelses grew when a graphic video surfaced, showing the shooting on a suburban road.
Attorneys for Mr. Arbery’s family believe the video is the same one that Mr. Barnhill refers to in his letter to the police. Mr. Barnhill described the video as having been made by a third man who had joined the McMichaels in “hot pursuit” of Mr. Arbery. Attorneys for Mr. Arbery’s family believe the video is the same one that Mr. Barnhill referred to in his letter to the police. Mr. Barnhill described the video as having been made by a third man who had joined the McMichaelses in “hot pursuit” of Mr. Arbery.
The video is about a half-minute long and appears to be taken by someone riding or driving in a vehicle as it heads down a street in Satilla Shores. It shows Mr. Arbery running along a shaded two-lane residential road when he comes upon a white truck, with a man standing beside its open driver’s side door with a shotgun. Another man is in the bed of the pickup with a handgun. The video is about a half-minute long and appears to have been taken by someone riding or driving in a vehicle as it headed down a street in Satilla Shores. It shows Mr. Arbery running along a shaded two-lane residential road when he comes upon a white truck, with a man standing beside its open driver’s side door with a shotgun. Another man is in the bed of the pickup with a handgun.
Mr. Arbery runs around the truck and disappears briefly from view. Muffled shouting can be heard before Mr. Arbery emerges, fighting with the man outside the truck as three shotgun blasts echo.Mr. Arbery runs around the truck and disappears briefly from view. Muffled shouting can be heard before Mr. Arbery emerges, fighting with the man outside the truck as three shotgun blasts echo.
Mr. Arbery tries to run but staggers and falls to the pavement after a few steps.Mr. Arbery tries to run but staggers and falls to the pavement after a few steps.
On Saturday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published another video that shows a man walking into a house under construction in the neighborhood and eventually running out of it. In May, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published another video that shows a man walking into a house under construction in the neighborhood and eventually running out of it.
S. Lee Merritt, a lawyer for Mr. Arbery’s family, said in a statement Saturday that the video, which appears to be from a home-surveillance camera, is “consistent with the evidence already known to us.” S. Lee Merritt, a lawyer for Mr. Arbery’s family, said in a statement that the video, which appeared to be from a home-surveillance camera, is “consistent with the evidence already known to us.”
“Ahmaud Arbery was out for a jog,” Mr. Merritt said. “He stopped by a property under construction where he engaged in no illegal activity and remained for only a brief period. Ahmaud did not take anything from the construction site.”“Ahmaud Arbery was out for a jog,” Mr. Merritt said. “He stopped by a property under construction where he engaged in no illegal activity and remained for only a brief period. Ahmaud did not take anything from the construction site.”
In an April 7 email to the office of Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, Mr. Barnhill, the prosecutor, said that his office had “video of Arbery burglarizing a home immediately preceding the chase and confrontation.” In an April 7 email to the office of Mr. Carr, the Georgia attorney general, Mr. Barnhill, the prosecutor, said that his office had “video of Arbery burglarizing a home immediately preceding the chase and confrontation.”
But Mr. Merritt said, in his statement, that no felony had been committed by Mr. Arbery when he was on the property.But Mr. Merritt said, in his statement, that no felony had been committed by Mr. Arbery when he was on the property.
Mr. Arbery’s defenders believe he was probably jogging through the neighborhood for exercise. Michael J. Moore, an Atlanta lawyer who formerly served as a federal prosecutor in Georgia, reviewed Mr. Barnhill’s letter to the Glynn County Police Department, as well as the initial police report, at the request of The Times. In an email, Mr. Moore called Mr. Barnhill’s opinion “flawed.” Mr. Arbery’s defenders believe he was probably jogging through the neighborhood for exercise. Michael J. Moore, an Atlanta lawyer and a former federal prosecutor, reviewed Mr. Barnhill’s letter to the Glynn County Police Department, as well as the initial police report, at the request of The Times. In an email, Mr. Moore called Mr. Barnhill’s opinion “flawed.”
In his view, Mr. Moore said, the McMichaels appeared to be the aggressors in the confrontation, and such aggressors were not justified in using force under Georgia’s self-defense laws. “The law does not allow a group of people to form an armed posse and chase down an unarmed person who they believe might have possibly been the perpetrator of a past crime,” Mr. Moore wrote. In his view, Mr. Moore said, the McMichaelses appeared to be the aggressors in the confrontation, and such aggressors were not justified in using force under Georgia’s self-defense laws. “The law does not allow a group of people to form an armed posse and chase down an unarmed person who they believe might have possibly been the perpetrator of a past crime,” Mr. Moore wrote.
The Georgia N.A.A.C.P. previously called for the pursuers to be arrested, and the Rev. Al Sharpton called for an investigation.The Georgia N.A.A.C.P. previously called for the pursuers to be arrested, and the Rev. Al Sharpton called for an investigation.
On Tuesday, Joe Biden, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, weighed in on Twitter. “The video is clear: Ahmaud Arbery was killed in cold blood,” he wrote. “My heart goes out to his family, who deserve justice and deserve it now. It is time for a swift, full, and transparent investigation into his murder.” In May, Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, weighed in on Twitter. “The video is clear: Ahmaud Arbery was killed in cold blood,” he wrote. “My heart goes out to his family, who deserve justice and deserve it now. It is time for a swift, full, and transparent investigation into his murder.”
Both Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, a Republican, and his Democratic opponent in the 2018 governor’s race, Stacey Abrams, the former state House minority leader, have expressed concern over the case. Both Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, a Republican, and his Democratic opponent in the 2018 governor’s race, Stacey Abrams, a former state House minority leader, have expressed concern over the case.
Mr. Kemp Tuesday wrote on Twitter that “Georgians deserve answers.” Ms. Abrams wrote that “our systems of law enforcement and justice must be held to the highest standards: full investigation, appropriate charges and an unbiased prosecution.” Mr. Kemp wrote on Twitter that “Georgians deserve answers.” Ms. Abrams wrote that “our systems of law enforcement and justice must be held to the highest standards: full investigation, appropriate charges and an unbiased prosecution.”
Daniel Victor contributed reporting.