Lee Merritt, the lawyer for Ahmaud Arbery’s family, says the federal authorities met with them last week and said they have launched a criminal investigation into the conduct of the 2 district attorneys and other members of the Glynn County police department that allegedly covered up Ahmaud’s killing.
The lawyer appeared Monday on “TMZ Live” and stated that the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia informed the family they would be looking forward to both civil and criminal action against the officials.
The text message sent from the police to the homeowner was also talked brought up by Merritt. The message was basically telling him if there was “action” on his doorbell he should call Gregory McMichael, which is half of the father/son duo accused of murder.
Merritt worries the police conduct may have effectively deputized the elder McMichael in such a way that the citizen’s arrest laws do not apply and he would be treated as a law enforcement officer doing his duty. As everyone knows by now, thanks to the video of the crime, the son, Travis McMichael is the one who fired the shots, but according to Merritt it could still be a problem given how the police decided to handle the situation.
Despite possible drawbacks, the family is pleased to see William Bryan, the man who videotaped the shooting, has been charged with Ahmaud’s death as well. Merrit says it was especially galling and unacceptable for the family to see Bryan’s “media tour” proclaiming his innocence.
If he were truly innocent he would have stepped up and done something. A good person doesn’t stand by and watch another person kill someone in cold blood.