Defense Lawyer Says Ahmaud Arbery Should Have Complied With ‘Lawful’ Citizens Arrest

In the pending criminal case against William Bryan Jr., one of the three men charged in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia, on Feb. 23, the attorney for Bryan is now saying that Arbery should have known that he was being placed under a citizen’s arrest. And, by knowing this, he should have just given up and complied when he was confronted by the two armed men, Gregory and Travis McMichael, as they tried to run him off the road and detain him, according to BET.

Bryan’s attorney made this argument in a court memo submitted by Byran’s attorneys to the Superior Court Of Glynn County. According to The Daily Beast, Arbery had been caught on video walking through a construction site and by him knowing he was on probation for shoplifting, he should have just surrendered when the three assailants, Bryan, Travis, and Gregory McMichael, tried to pin him between their trucks on a Georgia street back in February. When the McMichaels attacked him and Arbery refused to stop, McMichael ended up shooting Arbery three times causing his death.

“Arbery was not authorized to resist arrest when objectively speaking he knew that he was lawfully subject to arrest,” the memo stated, claiming that Travis had shot Arbery in self-defense because Arbery “suddenly turned and rushed” toward the McMichaels.

Prosecutors have alleged that Arbery was only fighting back after attempting, several times, to avoid being run down by a truck being driven by the McMichaels, who had no evidence Arbery had committed a crime. Prosecutors also stated that there was no way that the McMichaels had any knowledge of Arbery being on probation.

At the July 17 hearing, Bryan was denied bond after a judge ruled that he was a flight risk based on the severity of the charges against him.

William Bryan Jr. is being charged with felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment charges and is also facing possible hate crime charges. He’s currently under investigation for newly surfaced sex crimes.