Ahmaud Arbery case: Texts suggest Georgia police enlisted help from suspect months before shooting, report says

New text messages suggest police may have “informally deputized” one of the suspects in the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, while protesters demand the resignation of Georgia prosecutors for mishandling the investigation.

Arbery, 25, was running through a Brunswick neighborhood on Feb. 23 when he was fatally shot. Greg and Travis McMichael – father and son, respectively – were arrested two months later after video, purportedly leaked by Greg himself, showed the confrontation that resulted in Arbery’s death.

Arbery is African-American, and the McMichaels are white. Both men have been charged with felony murder and aggravated assault on Arbery.

Text messages, first obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, show an exchange between police and a private citizen concerning a private construction site located one block away from where Arbery was shot. It's the same construction site where Arbery was seen on surveillance footage before his death.

Larry English, who owns the construction site, reached out to police in December concerning trespassers on the property. English maintained a motion-activated camera system that sent alerts and a video clip whenever the cameras activated.

Officer Robert Rash of the Glynn County Police Department responded on December 20 to English’s concern, suggesting in the text exchange that Greg McMichael could help.

“Your neighbor at XX Satilla Drive is Greg McMichael. Greg is retired Law Enforcement and also a Retired Investigator from the DA’s office,” the text from Officer Rash read. “He said please call him day or night when you get action on your camera.”

McMichael retired last year as an investigator with the Brunswick District Attorney’s office.

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