Urban Americans are in an uproar after an unarmed Black jogger was pursued before being shot and killed by a White father and son in southeast Georgia.
The video of the confrontation, the violent struggle and then the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, 25, by a White man and his son, took place in the Georgia coastal town of Brunswick, about a four-hour drive southeast of Atlanta. The violent episode took place on Feb. 23, but was just released by one of the local radio stations, CNN reports.
The White father, a former police officer named Gregory McMichael, told local police that Arbery fit the description of a Black man who is wanted for alleged home break-ins in the area. McMichael admits that he and his son, Travis, chased down Arbery in their pickup truck and tried to make a citizen’s arrest.
But the McMichaels told the Glynn County Police Department that Arbery resisted and a struggled ensued over control of the guns the father and son were carrying and pointing at Arbery. During the altercation, Arbery was shot in the midsection on more than one occasion, before collapsing onto the ground where he died.
The family attorney, Lee Merritt, doesn’t understand how the McMichaels have not been apprehended or charged after two months, CNN reports.
Meanwhile, the district attorney, Tom Durden, stated that he plans to send the case before the grand jury to see if Gregory and Travis McMichael will be charged in the case, according to NBC News. However, because of the coronavirus pandemic, a grand jury cannot be convened until it is deemed safe enough to congregate for such a proceeding.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden calls for an investigation into the case, according to USA Today, while former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams said, “our systems of law enforcement and justice must be held to the highest standards” and demands a “full investigation, appropriate charges and an unbiased prosecution.”
Gov. Brian Kemp said on his Twitter platform that “Georgians deserve answers” about the circumstances of the case, while the Georgia attorney general Chris Carr added that he was “deeply concerned.”
Flip the page to take a look at the disturbing video.
