Let Justice Run Down: Update on the Ahmaud Arbery Case
There has been a development in the Ahmaud Arbery case. I have so many thoughts.
As a Black woman married to a white police officer, I have a unique perspective on many of the racial incidents that make the headlines and grab national attention. I’ve long written about the need to evaluate each law enforcement officer-involved incident on its own merits. We must resist the urge to add each incident to the litany of Black people allegedly and unlawfully killed by the police.
These incidents and the circumstances surrounding them are all different but the mainstream media has successfully advanced the narrative they are all the same and indicative of a larger problem—the targeting of Black people by the police.
One name, Ahmaud Arbery, has been included in the list of names such as Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, etc. Why this particular incident is included has always been curious to me since, unlike the others, Arbery was shot by private citizens, not law enforcement.
For those who need a refresher, Arbery, a 25-year old Black man in Brunswick, Georgia, was shot at close range by Travis McMichael on February 23, 2020, after he and his father, Gregory, confronted him when he ran through their neighborhood. The father-son duo claimed they believed Arbery was a burglar after he was seen walking through a house under construction and then jogging away. They took it upon themselves to pursue and corner him in their pickup truck while he ran on foot. The confrontation was captured on video by a neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, whom they alerted to their activities.
Arbery’s mother was told her son was killed as the result of a burglary and no real investigation of the case was done until the video footage was leaked to the public nearly two months later. The fact that the senior McMichael previously worked as a police officer and later as an investigator for then Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson clearly played a role in the decision to accept the McMichael’s word about the tragic incident.
After the leaked video footage came to light, many, including myself, were understandably outraged. How two men, who were not badge carrying members of law enforcement, were able to hold a man at gunpoint, demand answers and then shoot him in broad daylight and not be held accountable highlights the fact that the remaining vestiges of the “good ol’ boy” system are clearly still in place.
Reverse the situation. Do we really think two Black men could chase a white man down and shoot him in the street without a thorough investigation? You can watch my video about the incident here. Until the issue went public and the matter was handed to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, these wannabe vigilantes were allowed to walk free.
This horrific incident has been lumped in with police shootings even though the perpetrators were private citizens. I’m no fan of mob justice or trial by public opinion but pressure clearly needed to be put on authorities before these men were indicted and faced trial for their actions. The trial is slated to be held sometime in 2021.
Last week, former Georgia prosecutor Jacquelyn Lee Johnson was indicted and accused of “showing favor and affection” to the defendants in the case. She had already been voted out of office last November. Her prosecution should send a clear message to those contemplating using their position to help their friends. Like I’ve said before, we often associate privilege with one’s race when it oftentimes has more to do with one’s wealth and proximity to power. In this particular instance, both race and connections played a role.
Republicans typically support law and order. The Arbery case is one that almost slipped through the cracks of the criminal justice system. In the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, cases like Arbery’s received a second look.
I have zero time for those trying to bring up Arbery’s criminal past or a now repealed Georgia law from the Civil War era authorizing citizen’s arrest. The McMichael duo were not members of law enforcement and had no knowledge of his past actions. Arbery clearly had nothing in his hands or on his person that indicated something had been taken from an open construction site which many other people had also walked through during the build. Ahmaud did not have to answer to them or follow their commands. They could have called the police to investigate but felt they personally had the right to confront an unarmed man, hit him with their truck, shoot him three times and then call him a “f--- n---.” Both social media posts and text messages show a strong dislike of Black people which underscores the racial animus behind their actions.
I am encouraged by the prosecutor's indictment by the grand jury. Conservatives can’t let the media’s constantly injecting race into seemingly every area of life cause us to dismiss cases where race clearly played a factor.
I pray justice will be served in this case. The silver lining of the current racial climate is cases like this one now receive the scrutiny they deserve and aren’t swept under the rug.