Ahmaud Arbery's mother blasts investigator into son's murder

Ahmaud Arbery’s devastated mother said the investigator who took the stand at her son's trial Wednesday told the nearly all-white jury only half the story and called testimony of her boy being trapped like a rat ‘disturbing.’

Wanda Cooper-Jones blasted former Glynn County Police investigator Stephan Lowrie from the steps of  Brunswick, Georgia, courthouse.  

‘Investigator Lowrie was the individual who called me on that Sunday afternoon about 6.30pm and told me that Ahmaud had committed a burglary.

‘He told me that Ahmaud had committed a burglary, he was confronted by the homeowner and Ahmaud was killed. I listened to investigator Lowrie today for about three hours. He did not tell the court that Ahmaud had committed a burglary. In fact he said nothing about a burglary.

‘But instead he called me, and told me that my son (was) deceased because he had committed a burglary. That was not acceptable.’

The grieving mom went on to say: ‘Ahmaud ran, Ahmaud was chased, Ahmaud was killed and then Ahmaud was lied on.’

Gregory McMichael - an ex-Glynn County cop and former investigator with the local district attorney's office – 35-year-old Travis McMichael and William 'Roddie' Bryan, 52, all face nine charges from the killing on February 23 last year. 

At Wednesday's trial, the jury was played a call made by Bryan telling police he wished he had struck Arbery with his pickup truck because it 'might have took him out and not get him shot.' 

Bryan - who recorded the pursuit on his cell phone - said he angled his truck three times to cut off Arbery, alleging that the jogger had tried to open the door but denied striking the running man. 

'I probably got passed him a little bit and he comes up on me and I could see him in my mirror and he was coming for the door - and I see his hands on right behind the door,' Bryan, 52, said, according to an interview transcript read by Lowrie - the former Glynn County Police investigator - in court.

He continued: 'I didn't hit him. Wish I would have. Might have took him out and not get him shot.'

The transcript was presented in court just hours after the jury learned that defendant Gregory McMichael told a cop that Arbery was 'trapped like a rat' as he and his son, Travis McMichael, chased after him. 

'He was trapped like a rat. I think he was wanting to flee and he realized that something, you know, he was not going to get away,' said McMichael, 65.

Earlier, the court heard a 911 call made by a breathless Travis McMichael on the evening of February 11, 2021 - 12 days before Arbery was killed.

McMichael was breathing heavily throughout the six-minute call after telling the operator he had 'caught a guy running into a house being built' who he believed could be armed.

He said he saw the man and 'when I turned around he took off into the house'. 

Panting heavily as he spoke, he continued: 'Black male, red shirt. He is in the house.

'I am sitting right across the street in my truck watching the house. He reached into his picket. I don't know whether he is armed or not. It looked like he was acting like he was. Be mindful of that.'

Travis McMichael stayed outside the house until police arrived, according to the taped call. It was not disclosed in court what happened after that – and Arbery's name was not mentioned in relation to the call in court.

Civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton - joined by attorney Ben Crump, Arbery's parents and their lawyers - led a prayer vigil outside the courthouse Wednesday demanding justice for the jogger in a killing he described as a 'lynching in the 21st century.'

He also criticized the jury seated for the racially-charged trial, echoing prosecutors' claims that it was disproportionately white.

'It's an insult to the intelligence of the American people,' Sharpton said. 'If you can count to 12 and only get to one that's black, you know something's wrong.' 

During Wednesday's hearing, the jury heard Bryan describe the last few moments of 'confronted' Arbery's life, as recorded in his interview with Lowrie.

Bryan 'joined in' the chase of the young black man after spotting him running while he was working on his porch at around 1pm, the court heard.

'I was on the front porch of the house, looked up and see a black guy running down the road,' he said.

The former investigator told the court that Bryan told him he saw a truck following Arbery. After that 'he said Ya'll got him?, like a question', added Lowrie.

Asked by prosecutor Larissa Ollivierre if he said that to the 'black guy' or the truck, Lowrie said: 'To the truck.'

Lowrie said Bryan then 'went to his truck to assist… and kind of joined in'. The former cop added: 'He sat there and kind of assessed and waited for Mr Arbery to come back towards him.'

Bryan angled his truck at Arbery three times during the pursuit, the court was told. But Arbery continued to run and gave Bryan the slip.

'At this point I got turned round good,' said Bryan in the interview with Lowrie, according to the transcript the former officer read in court. Bryan said he rounded a corner 'enough to see the black guy was right there, but really wasn't running any more.

'It looked like at this point, I'd say he'd just had enough of the running. He was confronted.'

Bryan's attorney, Kevin Gough, asked Lowrie if he thought Bryan committed aggravated assault or any other 'serious violent felony' with his truck.

'No, that wasn't the way I interpreted it at the time,' Lowrie explained, agreeing that at the time local police considered Bryan a witness to the shooting.

The defendants' lawyers have said their clients were trying to make a lawful citizens arrest by chasing Arbery.

However, Lowrie told the court Bryan did not say anything in his interview about seeing Arbery committing a crime before he jumped in his truck.

Ms Ollivierre asked the former officer: 'What if anything did Mr Bryan say about arresting or telling Ahmaud he was under arrest for criminal trespass?' 

Lowrie replied: 'He didn't.'

The ex-cop also said Bryan did not mention anything in his interview about telling Arbery he was under arrest for loitering or burglary.

Ms Ollivierre asked Lowrie: 'Did Mr Bryan ever tell Ahmaud during that chase that he was under arrest for anything?' Lowrie replied: 'No, not that I was made aware of.'

The court also heard Gregory McMichael's recount of Arbery's final moments, as described to Detective Sgt. Rod Nohilly during an interview conducted at police headquarters a few hours after the shooting.

The suspect told Nohilly: '[Arbery] wasn't out for no Sunday jog. He was getting the hell out of there.' 

McMichael explained how he and his son pursued Arbery, who they believed to be a burglar, and shouted for him to stop.

'He was much faster than Travis would ever be. He had opportunity to flee further you know,' he told trial witness Detective Nohilly.

'He had an opportunity to flee further, you know. We had chased him around the neighborhood a bit, but he wasn't winded at all. I mean this guy

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