The lead investigator in the Feb. 23 death of Ahmaud Arbery at the hands of Travis and Gregory McMichael was given some unsurprising but awful information by one of the co-defendants. AJC reports that moments after Arbery was shot and collapsed to the ground, suspect William “Roddie” Bryan heard shooter Travis McMichael say, “Fucking n---—.” Arbery was shot with a shotgun three times while jogging—unarmed—through the coastal community of Satilla Shores, Georgia.
Bryan, who videotaped the confrontation and shooting death of the unarmed Arbery, was arrested at the end of May and charged for his participation in the vigilante attack. Bryan reportedly helped corral Arbery as the McMichaels chased him down, leading to his death. The arrests came after months of inaction on the part of Georgia law enforcement, but calls for justice increased after video tape of the confrontation and killing of Arbery was leaked to the press.
William Bryan has been interviewed by investigators and his statements are damning on a couple of levels. The question that has faced Georgia and the United States for months now is: Why did it take months to even arrest Arbery’s killers? When will Georgia prosecutors, who have dragged their heels and shown their biases and corruption in this case, make a decision on whether or not to pursue a hate crime charge? When people speak about systemic racism, they’re referring to these grotesque gaps in equality. It’s not simply about law enforcement officers with guns and pepper spray on their holsters: It’s the judicial apparatus supporting them that must also be held accountable.
Reporter Sabrina Siddiqui reports that investigator Dial said Gregory McMichaels told him while he had no evidence that Arbery had done anything wrong, his “gut” told him that Arbery had stolen something, which is why he and his son were pursuing him. Dial also says that in looking through shooter Travis McMichael’s social media posts, he used the N-word “several times,” and also had once written, in response to an Instagram post, that something would have been better "if they had blown that fucking n*****s head off.” The McMichaels clan seems very superior to the rest of us.
CNN reports that Arbery was allegedly hit by the McMichael’s truck as he continued to run and try to avoid the three men chasing him in the neighborhood. When Dial was asked about McMichael’s claims of self defense, Dial gave his very different opinion of the facts.
"I believe Mr. Arbery was being pursued, and he ran till he couldn't run anymore, and it was turn his back to a man with a shotgun or fight with his bare hands against the man with the shotgun. He chose to fight. ... I believe Mr. Arbery's decision was to just try to get away, and when he felt like he could not escape he chose to fight."
You can watch lead investigator Richard Dial’s testimony below.