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Tasfia Ahmad writes about the brutal killing of the young Ahmaud Arbery, discussing the authorities' initial response to the man's death, and describing the outrage felt across the world. While his shooters have been arrested and charged, it seems state law prevents them from being found guilty of a hate crime. This article also identifies that the case was kept relatively quiet, as no action was taken against the perpetrators until three months after Arbery's death.
On Tuesday the 5th of May, a shocking thirty-six-second video was released from the local radio station in Brunswick, Georgia which showed the killing of a 25-year-old man named Ahmaud Arbery. The killing took place in the Satilla Shores neighborhood in Georgia on February 23, 2020, as an onlooker recorded the whole experience. It is alarming. The video shows Ahmaud Arbery jogging through a neighborhood, when a white truck approaches him. There were two white men near that truck, one standing outside of it was 34 year-old Travis McMichael, and the other standing aloft on the flatbed was his 64-year-old father: Gregory McMichael. The McMichaels reportedly chased Arbery in order to intercept his path at another location, stated in a report made by Glynn County Police.
Arbery initially approaches the white truck, but, as he tries to move away from the two men, Travis McMichael shoots with his shotgun. Immediately, the two men are fighting over control of the gun. Suddenly, two more shots are fired from Travis, and Arbery strives to escape before his knees start buckling and he collapses onto the road. It is at that horrific moment that the video ends. The Glynn County Police arrived at the crime scene after getting a 911 call , in which someone states: “There’s a black male running down the street”, before ending with “Stop! Stop!-”. When the police arrived, they pronounced Ahmaud Arbery dead.
According to the Glynn County police report, Travis McMichael rolled the body over, to check if the male had a weapon or not. Arbery died from fatal wounds. Blood was on the McMichaels’ hands, yet neither of them were arrested or charged between late February and the time at which the disturbing video was posted. For a period of time, the killers walked free, while Ahmaud Arbery was laid to rest in New Springfield Baptist Church in Alexander, Georgia. The victim’s family demanded answers.
The Glynn County police report explains why Gregory and his son chased Ahmaud Arbery. “McMichael stated how there have been several break-ins in the neighborhood and further the suspect was caught on surveillance video. McMichael stated he was in his front yard and saw the suspect from the break-ins ‘hauling ass’ down Satilla Drive toward Burford Drive. McMichael stated he then ran inside his house and called to Travis (McMichael) and said ‘Travis the guy is running down the street let's go’. McMichael stated he went to his bedroom and grabbed his 0.357 Magnum and Travis grabbed his shotgun because they “didn't know if the male was armed or not’”.
There have also been anonymous 911 calls, suspecting Arbery of the break-ins, as onlookers watched him jog his usual route. In one of the recorded calls, the operator on the line asks, “What is he doing?” and the caller simply says, “He’s running down the street.” The caller later accuses Arbery of having previously trespassed and burgled at night.
Two months before the McMichaels confronted Arbery, there had been a series of burglary reports, including someone stealing a 9mm pistol from the McMichaels and $2,500 worth of fish tackle from a boat on someone else’s property. According to an interview on Wednesday the 6th of May, the man from whom the tackle was stolen did not file a police report, but mentioned the incident being “unnerving and unsettling”. Neither the man nor McMichael know who the actual burglar was. However, McMichael suspected Arbery to be the same man they had witnessed trespassing and burgling on previous nights, according to Glynn County Police.
“Gregory McMichael is a former Glynn County police officer and a former investigator with the local district attorney’s office who retired last May”, according to The New York Times. Both the first and second prosecutors have “recused” themselves from the case due to conflict of interest. However, the second prosecutor, Attorney George Barnhill, simply mentioned in his letter how "It appears their intent was to stop and hold this criminal suspect until law enforcement arrived. Under Georgia law, this is perfectly legal.” He proceeded to suggest that Arbery triggered the gunshots due to his mental health, which Arbery’s father proved to be a false claim. Arbery’s attorney Lee Merritt has recognized Arbery’s arrests for shoplifting in 2018 and bringing a gun to a basketball game at the age of 19. However, he has described the attempt to draw correlations between these crimes and his death as “absurd”. The third prosecutor, Atlantic Judicial Circuit District Attorney Tom Durden, said he would submit the evidence to the grand jury once coronavirus regulations have been uplifted. Durden took this case on April 13 and is keen to impanel a grand jury sometime after June 12, when the state Supreme Court's COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, too. He requested the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to investigate the shooting; they have now charged 34-year-old Travis McMichael and 64-year-old Gregory McMichael with murder and aggravated assault of Ahmaud Arbery.
Arbery was not armed, and he was not the suspect of any break-ins. He was a former football player who enjoyed running and staying fit. On the evening of May 5th, protestors from the Satilla Shores neighborhood chanted “I run with Maud”, which was Arbery’s nickname. The demonstrators were demanding justice for the 25 year-old and his family. The news is truly heartbreaking for, not only the people of Brunswick, but people across the globe, as many were unaware of the news until three months after it happened.
The Black Lives Matter Movement peaked a few years ago, focusing on the injustice on black members of society. From police officers’ killings of black people to white citizens shooting, it shows the anti-black sentiment that is so prevalent, even in the 21st century. Often, black people are portrayed as threatening, while state laws neglect to criticise those who partake in vigilante acts of violence. Many claim that American law has always put ethnic minorities at a disadvantage, with its history of slavery, black codes, the Jim Crow system, and Sundown towns. Currently, it seems unlikely that the McMichaels will be charged with a hate crime, as such preventative laws simply do not exist in the state of Georgia.
If Ahmaud Arbery had been alive on the 8th of May 2020, he would have been celebrating his 26th birthday alongside his loving family.
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