Police video obtained pursuant to a public records request shows Glynn County police officers threatening Ahmaud Arbery with a taser, ordering him to the ground and searching him, for doing absolutely except sitting alone in a park one morning in 2017.
theguardian.com/us-news/video/…
theguardian.com/us-news/video/…
In his report of the incident, police officer Michael Kanago justifies the use of force by saying he felt threatened.
His “veins were popping from [his] chest, which made me feel that he was becoming enraged and may turn physically violent towards me." theguardian.com/us-news/2020/m…
His “veins were popping from [his] chest, which made me feel that he was becoming enraged and may turn physically violent towards me." theguardian.com/us-news/2020/m…
In fact, the video shows Mr. Arbery - although understandably upset at the harassment - fully complies with the officers' orders, even when they tase him (the taser malfunctions) order him to the ground, search him, and accuse him without reason of possessing marijuana.
Even after they let Mr. Arbery go, the officers still discuss potential ways they could seize his car or arrest him. Officer Kanago claims his car smells like marijuana and, peering through the window, says he can see seeds wrapped in plastic in plain view on the center console.
The reason they are reaching is made clear when the officers' lieutenant arrives at the scene - they need to justify their attempt to use the taser on Mr. Arbery, just in case he claims they used excessive force. The lieutenant tells them to leave it alone.
The video ends with the Officer Kanago saying yeah he was definitely up to something.
Indeed, as the Arbery family lawyers point out in a statement, the video is "just a glimpse into the kind of scrutiny Ahmaud Arbery faced not only by this police department, but ultimately regular citizens like the McMichaels and their posse, pretending to be police officers.”
First tweet of thread should read "doing absolutely *nothing* except..."
