Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Chesco man races for justice for victim
Chesco man joins national movement to honor slain Georgia victim
VALLEY FORGE » The Rev. Kyle Boyer, of Chesterbrook, traveled to Washington Memorial Chapel to run for Ahmaud Arbery on what would have been his 25th birthday.
“I’m still hopeful about the progress we can make on criminal justice. Hate crimes such as the one that took the life of Ahmaud tear down all of us, not just the one whose life was taken,” Boyer said.
In February, Arbery, 24, who served in the Georgia National Guard, took a jog in a relatively quiet neighborhood of Brunswick on a bright, sunny day.
Along the way, armed men, a father and son, approached him and ultimately gunned him down.
Three months later, with no criminal charges filed, suddenly the case came to light thanks to newly released leaked video evidence that captured Arbery’s killing.
“As much as one might think this situation cries out for obvious conviction, there are no guarantees,” Boyer said. “For two men to be able to hunt down an unarmed jogger without consequence would be a major slap in the face to minority individuals, but it’s happened in highly publicized cases before. Hopefully this is different.
“Bias, prejudice and the racism are all learned behaviors and race is a social construct.
“Until we are mature enough to have honest conversations about systemic inequities in our society, we will neither heal nor progress in meaningful ways,” said Boyer, who serves as West Chester branch president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
“We are assessing all the evidence to determine whether federal hate crime charges are appropriate,” U.S. Department of Justice spokeswoman Kerri Kupec tweeted Monday. “We are considering a request of the Attorney General of Georgia (Christopher Carr) and have asked that he forward to federal authorities any information that he has about the handling of the investigation. We will continue to assess all information, and we will take any appropriate action that is warranted by the facts and the law.”
In Georgia, Glynn
County Commission Chairman Mike Browning expressed his condolences in a public statement issued May 7, the day before Ahmaud’s birthday. “Our hearts go out to the family of Ahmaud Arbery for the tragic loss they have experienced,” Browning said. “This heavy issue has touched so many of us both locally and nationally and caused us to pause and think deeply about this family and our own families. We have to believe that the justice system will do what it is designed to do and provide answers to the many unanswered questions.”
‘Justifiable homicide’
“I am hopeful that we can come together as a community to deal with this situation with peace and brotherhood, rather than hate and violence … Again, we ask prayers for this family and this com
munity as a whole as this case moves its way through the justice system,” Browning said.
On Feb. 23, the GlynnBrunswick 911 Center received two calls between 1:08 p.m. and 1:15 p.m. with reports of suspicious activity in the Satilla Shores neighborhood, the Glynn County Police Department said in a public statement issued May 7.
“From the beginning, the Glynn County Police Department has sought justice in this case,” law enforcement officials said.
Gunshots were heard by the responding officer upon arrival, police said.
“Shortly thereafter, the location of the gunshots
was identified, and an ambulance was called (for Arbery).”
Glynn County police said the father and son involved in the deadly shooting, Travis McMichael and Greg McMichael, were questioned at police headquarters less than three hours after the shooting.
Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney George Barnhill Sr. advised detectives the next day that the actions of the McMichaels against the unarmed jogger were “justifiable homicide,” and said to continue their investigation, police said.
Since the video of Arbery’s killing went viral last week, Barnhill has since recused himself, according to police. In consultation with the Georgia attorney general, the case has since been transferred to District Attorney Tom Durden
of the Atlantic Judicial Circuit. The senior McMichael worked for the Brunswick District Attorney’s Office in the 1980s and 1990s.
Justice, truth
Since childhood, Boyer said he’s always felt compelled to help marginalized individuals. He added that a true passion for social justice developed during his undergraduate studies at the George Washington University. Today he is a teacher, public policy strategist and faith-based leader.
He called what happened to Arbery a “lynching.”
In recent years, smartphones have enabled people to record video evidence during encounters with law enforcement officers or during an emergency.
State law in Georgia allows and empowers people who witness a crime to
make citizen’s arrests. Fatal force is permissible in cases of self-defense.
The video seems to tell a different tale.
“My social media timelines were full of individuals of all races honoring Ahmaud by running, walking or jogging,” Boyer said.
As the quest for truth continues, knowledge of Arbery’s death broke a nineweek quarantine daze for thousands of people who left home to run May 8. Many sang, “Happy Birthday!” Some wore masks, others kept their distance. Some hugged and others cried.
As for Arbery, his life, and death, sparked outrage and concern but ultimately inspired an American race for justice.
“We can do better, and I’m hopeful we will,” Boyer said.