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A Vigilante Killing in Georgia

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JoinSign inShare this postA Vigilante Killing in Georgiathedispatch.comCopy linkTwitterFacebookEmailMay 7, 2020Share this postA Vigilante Killing in Georgiathedispatch.comCopy linkTwitterFacebookEmailVoxAhmaud Arbery’s killers should be arrested and tried for murder. Their vigilante action looks less like the heroic actions of armed citizens upholding the law and more like an old-time posse, executing a vile form of street justice on a young, unarmed black man.Let’s walk through the events. Grab some coffee; this is going to take some time.&nbsp;Brunswick News“There’s a guy in the house right now; it’s under construction,” the man told the dispatcher.The man then gave her an address.“And you said someone’s breaking into it right now?” the dispatcher asked.“No,” the man replied, “it’s all open. It’s under construction … “The man interrupted to say Arbery was leaving. “And there he goes right now.”“That’s fine,” the dispatcher said. “I’ll get (police) out there. I just need to know what he was doing wrong. Was he just on the premises and not supposed to be?”The next sentence is garbled. “And he’s been caught on camera a bunch at night. It’s kind of an ongoing thing. The man building the house has got heart issues. I think he’s not going to finish it.”“Ok, that’s fine,” the dispatcher said. “And you said he was a male in a black T-shirt?”“White T-shirt,” the man said. “Black guy, white T-shirt. He’s done run into the neighborhood again.” Brunswick News“I’m out here at Satilla Shores,” the man said. “There’s a black male running down the street.”“Where at Satilla Shores?” the dispatcher asked.“I don’t know what street we’re on,” the man replied.“Stop!” he can be heard shouting. “Watch that. Stop, damn it! Stop!”That call went blank for several minutes, with the dispatcher trying several times to reach the caller. The call eventually hangs up.&nbsp;Why did they arm themselves? McMichael said he was concerned Arbery was armed because “the other night” he’d seen him stick his hands down his pants.&nbsp;From the police report, it appears there were two vehicles and three individuals involved in the chase. McMichael says he tried to cut off Arbery on the road and so did an individual named “Roddy.” McMichael then says he got into the bed of a pickup truck and continued the pursuit. Here’s how the police report described the fatal final encounter:McMichael stated they saw the unidentified male and shouted “stop stop, we want to talk to you.” McMichael stated they pulled up beside the male and shouted stop again at which time Travis exited the truck with the shotgun. 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. McMichael stated the male fell face down on the pavement with his hand under his body. McMichael stated he rolled the man over to see if the male had a weapon.As Arbery approached the truck, he was wearing what looked like workout clothes and running with his hands in clear view. He was not holding a weapon.&nbsp;If you’ve watched the video, you can already spot one clear problem. The video doesn’t depict McMichael pulling up beside Arbery but instead shows him waiting, blocking the road with his truck. Arbery changed direction to avoid the truck, Travis McMichael moved to intercept Arbery while holding his shotgun, the two scuffled (it’s not clear who initiated contact), and then Travis fired three shots.&nbsp;Brunswick NewsHis argument was simple: The three men were in “hot pursuit” of a burglary suspect with “solid firsthand probable cause” in the effort to execute a citizen’s arrest. Moreover, he argues, open-carrying weapons is lawful in Georgia, and the shooting occurred only after Arbery attacked Travis McMichael and tried to grab his shotgun. At that point, Barnhill argues, “McMichael was allowed to use deadly force to protect himself.”Once the citizen’s arrest is properly made, Georgia law requires the citizen to take the suspect before a judicial officer or peace officer “without any unnecessary delay.”&nbsp;Now, let’s apply the law to the facts. On the day Arbery died, a 911 caller said a man matching Arbery’s description was walking inside a vacant construction site. Another caller said, “There’s a black male running down the street.” Gregory McMichael claimed he recognized Arbery from “surveillance video” after “several break-ins in the neighborhood.”&nbsp;The only “offense” committed in anyone’s presence is the report of a person walking into a construction site. If that merits mounting up an armed three-person, two-vehicle posse to chase a man in broad daylight and menace him with weapons, then many of us are lucky to be alive and free. Just last week I walked into a house under construction in my neighborhood to check out the new floor plans. I didn’t even think to check for an armed gang charging down the street.olderJustifying armed pursuit on that basis would represent a remarkable application and extension of the law. It would empower vigilantism. It would empower citizens to independently investigate crimes and seek to arrest suspects on their own authority.&nbsp;McMichael didn’t merely report that Arbery ran by so that police could investigate. He didn’t even simply follow him at a safe distance to keep him in sight until the police arrived. He moved aggressively to arrest Arbery, and he did so based mainly on his subjective interpretation of surveillance videos of alleged previous incidents.&nbsp;is being committedThere are other problems with his story. If you go back to the police report, McMichael not only failed to report that he was parked and waiting in the road for Arbery rather than pulling up alongside him, he claims they told Arbery, “Stop stop, we want to talk to you.” A conversation is not an arrest, and an unarmed citizen is under no legal obligation to stop and “talk” to other armed citizens who are blocking his path.&nbsp;ArberyIt’s also worth remembering that the long and evil history of American lynchings features countless examples of young black men hunted and killed by white gangs who claimed their victims had committed crimes. While we don’t yet know the full details about the McMichaels’ motives, their actions speak loudly enough. When white men grab guns and mount up to pursue and seize an unarmed black man in the street, they stand in the shoes of lynch mobs past.&nbsp;Photograph by Sean Rayford/Getty Images.Like this postShare this postA Vigilante Killing in Georgiathedispatch.comCopy linkTwitterFacebookEmail352 CommentsFor your security, we need to re-authenticate you.Click the link we sent to , or .Expand full commentExpand full commentNo posts© 2022 The Dispatch ∙ ∙ &nbsp;is the home for great writingThis site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please or unblock scripts

JoinSign inShare this postA Vigilante Killing in Georgiathedispatch.comCopy linkTwitterFacebookEmailMay 7, 2020Share this postA Vigilante Killing in Georgiathedispatch.comCopy linkTwitterFacebookEmailVoxAhmaud Arbery’s killers should be arrested and tried for murder. Their vigilante action looks less like the heroic actions of armed citizens upholding the law and more like an old-time posse, executing a vile form of street justice on a young, unarmed black man.Let’s walk through the events. Grab some coffee; this is going to take some time.&nbsp;Brunswick News“There’s a guy in the house...

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A Vigilante Killing in Georgia

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