‘Life or death:’ Travis McMichael tells Georgia jury he felt threatened by Ahmaud Arbery

Nov. 17 (Reuters) – Travis McMichael testified at his murder trial Wednesday that he shot Ahmaud Arbery thinking the black man would attack him after McMichael and his two co-defendants chased Arbery through a largely white neighborhood in Georgia .

In more than three hours on the stand, McMichael, who is white, was trying to convince the jury that he had good reason to grab his shotgun and jump in his pickup truck with his father to hunt down Arbery last year, and said they thought Arbery might be a burglar.

He used police jargon frequently, drawing on the law enforcement training he received as a mechanic with the US Coast Guard. Holding back tears, he said 25-year-old Arbery scared him.

“They pull a gun at someone, from what I learned in my training, that usually tells people to back off,” he said, explaining why he was aiming his 12-gauge pump shotgun at Arbery .

However, Arbery ran towards McMichael at the end of a roughly five-minute chase on February 23, 2020 through Satilla Shores, a cluster of houses outside the small coastal town of Brunswick.

“I shot him. He had my gun, ”McMichael said in a trembling voice as he described the split second as they clutched the gun.

“It was a matter of life or death,” he said. McMichael fired three times at Arbery, ripping two deadly, gaping wounds into his chest.

Prosecutors said Arbery was an avid runner at afternoon jogging, and cell phone recordings of the murder sparked outrage when they showed up two months later.

McMichael, 35, has pleaded not guilty of murder and other crimes along with two other white accused: his 65-year-old father Gregory McMichael and her neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan.

Choosing to testify in your own defense was a risky legal maneuver. McMichael will now be asking questions from prosecutors who said they could question him about Bryan’s report that McMichael made a racial slur while standing over Arbery’s body.

‘HEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING?’

McMichael told jurors that his decision to grab a gun and chase Arbery was driven by an encounter 12 days earlier when he saw Arbery “sneaking in the shadows” around a nearby house under construction at night.

Travis McMichael responds to questions during his testimony in the trial of Greg McMichael, his son Travis McMichael, and William “Roddie” Bryan at the Glynn County Courthouse, while the trial of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery continues in Brunswick, Georgia, USA 17, 2021. Stephen B. Morton / Pool via REUTERS

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The police had told the McMichael men that nothing was done that day. Nonetheless, they suspected that Arbery had committed a theft on another occasion and that he may have been armed on the night of February 11th, apparently because he was reaching for his waistband or pocket.

The property owner has said through his attorney that Arbery has likely stopped drinking from a tap. Arbery had nothing with him other than his running clothes and shoes on the day he was shot.

Defense attorneys said the men tried legally to stop Arbery under a now-repealed law arresting Georgia citizens.

However, McMichael said repeatedly that he only followed Arbery to ask him questions and that he mistakenly believed his father called 911.

“I ask him: ‘Hey, what are you doing? What’s going on?'” McMichael testified and said he was driving next to Arbery on the street. Arbery never answered a word and looked angry through clenched teeth, McMichael said.

“He was furious, which made me believe something happened,” said McMichael.

Speaking calmly and often going directly to the jury, McMichael said he had arrest powers during his tenure with the U.S. Coast Guard and had been trained in the use of force and the need to have reasoned suspicion of a crime, despite being heard during his Service never had a reason to use force.

During cross-examination, which was scheduled to continue Thursday, McMichael agreed with prosecutor Linda Dunikoski that he had received training in constitutional restrictions on law enforcement powers.

“So you learned during your time in the military that you can’t force anyone to talk to you?” asked Dunikoski.

“That’s right,” replied McMichael.

“And if someone goes away, do you have to let them go?” She asked.

“Yes,” he said.

Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York and Rich McKay in Atlanta; Adaptation by Ross Colvin and Cynthia Osterman

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/ahmaud-arbery-could-have-asked-defendant-help-defense-tells-georgia-jury-2021-11-17/