The Atlanta City Council has officially requested that the state outlaw the ability of private citizens to make arrests if they see another person they suspect of committing a crime.
Since the American Civil War, the State of Georgia has allowed citizens' arrests.
According to current the law: “A private person may arrest an offender if the offense is committed in his presence or within his immediate knowledge. If the offense is a felony and the offender is escaping or attempting to escape, a private person may arrest him upon reasonable and probable grounds of suspicion.”
But the council’s resolution, approved by a 14-1 vote last week, says that too often those with racial and cultural biases have used the provision to detain and kill Black people.
It cites the 2019 death of a 62 year-old Black man, Kenneth Herring, “who was killed after he was involved in a minor fender-bender" in Clayton County.
And the resolution refers to the more recent death of 25-year old Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot and killed in February while jogging through a predominantly white neighborhood, an incident that was caught on video and sparked large demonstrations.
Councilwoman Andrea Boone told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that local residents have urged city leaders to speak out against the state’s citizens arrest law. She called it antiquated.
“I think it was necessary that we make a statement,” Boone said.
Buckhead Councilman Howard Shook provided the lone vote against the measure.
“I wish we were in an environment were I can support this measure,” Shook said. “But we are not.”
Buckhead business owners suffered between $10 and $15 million property damage according one estimate during demonstrations this year over the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd in May.
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