The trial for the killing of Ahmaud Arbery is underway in Glynn County, Georgia, where the 25-year-old Black man was shot in close range after being chased by white men in a pick up truck.
Former Glynn County police patrol officer, Ricky Minshew, told the court he arrived at the site of the Satilla Shores subdivision about a minute after the gunshots sounded. Apparently, Arbery’s body lying face-down on the street with pool of blood surrounding him.
Minshew radioed for 911 to send emergency medical responders. The former officer said did not render aid because it would not have been safe.
“Without having any other police units to have my back, there was no way I could switch to do anything medical and still watch after my own safety,” Minshew said.
Minshew testified he heard Arbery make a noise he described as a “death rattle.”
“A gunshot wound of the nature that was inflicted on this victim, that would probably be beyond the scope of ability for this officer to address,” Keith Taylor said, a former police sergeant.
Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, told the courthouse reporters she was confused at the lack of medical care for her son.
“He had a guy lying in the road who was covered in blood,” Wanda Cooper-Jones said.
Earlier today, Sergeant Sheila Ramos showed the jury dozens of crime scene photos she took just about an hour after the shooting. Before the images were shown in open court to jurors, Arbery’s father opted to leave the room. The photos consisted of some disturbing close-ups of Arbery’s gunshot wounds. Cooper-Jones chose to stay while the photos were being shown.
For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below:
The second officer to respond to the shooting, William Duggan, testified Friday and jurors watched portions of his body camera video in which Duggan rolled Arbery over and pressed a hand to his wounded chest.
“I had pressure on, but there was nothing I could do,” Duggan told other first responders on the video, saying Arbery died after about two minutes.
Father and son Greg and Travis McMichael armed themselves and used a pickup truck to pursue Arbery after they spotted him running in their neighborhood. A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, joined the chase and took cellphone video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery in the street at close range.
No arrests were made for more than two months until the video of the killing leaked online, sparking an outcry amid a national reckoning over racial injustice. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case from local police. Both McMichaels and Bryan were soon charged with murder and other crimes.
Defense attorneys said the men were justified to chase and attempt to detain Arbery because he had been recorded by security cameras inside a nearby home under construction and they suspected he was a burglar. They say Travis McMichael fired in self-defense when Arbery attacked him with fists and tried to grab his gun.
