The Ahmaud Arbery case continues to take different twists and turns. On May 18, The Guardian released a body cam video of Arbery having an encounter with police in 2017. In the video, Arbery told the police officers that he was relaxing on his one day off of work, but they harassed him nonetheless, inquiring why he was sitting in his car.
The incident escalated and another officer attempted to use a taser on Arbery. Following the intense confrontation, Arbery was not arrested.
During a recent episode of rolling out’s “A.M. Wake Up Call,” activist and radio personality, Derrick Boazman, shared his thoughts on the untimely release of the police bodycam video.
“What you see is a young brother in the video who is tired,” Boazman said. “I have to remind people that Brunswick is not Atlanta. It’s a small town. These people knew who Ahmaud Arbery was. You see a guy who is sitting in a car, minding his own business. His father has a car wash and landscaping business. Arbery told the police, ‘I’m off, why are y’all messing with me?’ Clearly he had no contraband. He knew his rights because he didn’t give the police the right to search his car without a search warrant. We know that the video is put out there to make him look like a person who is mean-spirited, anti-police. I’m waiting for the videos of the McMichaels? We have to be careful. They want to criminalize this young man in the eyes of the public. That police encounter had nothing to do with what happed to Arbery on Feb. 23.”
On Feb. 23, Arbery was killed while jogging a few miles from his Brunswick home. Video footage from the home’s security camera revealed that he was at home moments before his death.
The McMichaels pursued Arbery in a pickup truck, claiming that he looked like someone who had been breaking into homes in the neighborhood. Arbery, who was unarmed, was shot and killed after he was confronted by the McMichaels. For 74 days, neither was charged with a crime.
A video of the fatal encounter was eventually released, sparking national outrage and protests. The McMichaels were eventually arrested and are awaiting trial for murder and assault.
