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UPDATE: GBI To Investigate Shooting Of Unarmed Black Man
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The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Tuesday evening that District Attorney Tom Durden has formally requested that the agency investigate the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery. Two men shot and killed Arbery while he was jogging through a mostly-white Brunswick neighborhood Feb. 23.
Meanwhile, protesters confronted Glynn County Sheriff Neal Jump Tuesday evening, demanding answers.
"Nobody wants to hear this, but let me tell you: justice runs slow, but it gets to court," Jump told the gathered crowd.
In a tweet Tuesday Gov. Brian Kemp wrote, "Georgians deserve answers. State law enforcement stands ready to ensure justice is served."
GBI earlier Tuesday tweeted that the agency had not received a request to investigate the case, but that the Glynn County Police Department had requested investigations of alleged threats against GCPD and the public release of video of the shooting.
That video posted Tuesday to YouTube, shows two men confronting Arbery as he jogs down a residential street. After a brief tussle, shots ring out and Arbery falls to the ground.
The men, Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael, have not been arrested or charged.
They told police they suspected Arbery of recent break-ins in the neighborhood. Friends and family of the victim say he enjoyed running and appeared to be out for a jog.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: DA To Present Shooting Of Unarmed Black Man To Grand Jury
Georgia's NAACP is among many groups calling for action on the killing.
"We should not sit in a state where people can literally, you know, hold unarmed black boys by gunpoint and, you know, kill them at will," said state president James Woodall.
DA Durden is the third district attorney to handle the case. Brunswick DA Jackie Johnson cited a conflict of interest because Greg McMichael worked as an investigator in the Brunswick Judicial Circuit DA's office for more than 20 years.
The state NAACP and many on social media have called for Johnson's resignation.
The state attorney general's office reassigned the case to Ware County DA George Barnhill. He removed himself from the case three weeks ago at the request of Arbery's family. Barnhill's son is an assistant DA in the Brunswick office.
In addition to requesting the GBI investigation, Durden on Tuesday also announced he would present the case to a grand jury, who will consider criminal charges.
A grand jury cannot be empanelled until after at least June 12, when Georgia's current judicial state of emergency due to coronavirus is set to expire.
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