Man who took video of slaying will be investigated
ATLANTA – The director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Friday it will continue investigating the slaying of Ahmaud Arbery, including the man who videotaped the incident.
Director Vic Reynolds said that video was a key piece of evidence in the case in which two white men are seen chasing Arbery, a black man, down on a residential street in southern Georgia.
He said it took 36 hours from the time the bureau began assisting in the investigation to arrest the father and son, Gregory and Travis McMichael, who are accused of shooting Arbery.
An attorney for Arbery’s family has called for William “Roddie” Bryan, the man who filmed the incident, to be arrested. Reynolds said investigators are looking into that.
Because Georgia is one of four states in the U.S. that doesn’t have a hate crimes prevention law, the two will not face such a charge.
The GBI announced Wednesday it would begin aiding the investigation at Durden’s request. By Thursday night, the McMichaels were in custody of the Glynn County Police and charged with murder and aggravated assault.
Arbery was killed in February about 2 miles from his home in a neighborhood outside Brunswick. Gregory McMichael told police they saw him running and believed he was a burglary suspect, so he and his son armed themselves, got in a truck and followed him. They told police Arbery attacked them after one got out of the truck with a shotgun.
Arbery’s family and their attorneys said Arbery was out for a jog.