Corruption is the third-worst crime, behind murder and rape. It is a rot within. And a loss of confidence in the law would mean that we do not trust each other enough for self-governance.
The events in the Ahmaud Arbery case in Glynn County make me pause. Have criminals murdered Arbery and received cover from the district attorney’s office? Has the office been infiltrated by criminals and is it corrupt? Is honesty the exception and criminality the rule?
Recently a grand jury indicted former Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson for a felony violation of her oath of office in connection with the investigation of the shooting death of Arbery. In addition, she was charged with a misdemeanor violation of obstructing a police officer. According to the charges, DA Johnson acted to obstruct the arrests of the three men allegedly involved in the killing.
Credit: contributed
Credit: contributed
Charges say that, on Feb. 23, 2020, two white men (Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael) pursued and killed Arbery, a black jogger in Brunswick. A third white man (William “Roddie” Bryan) joined in the pursuit and videotaped the killing with his cell phone. None of the men were immediately charged after the killing and they remained free for more than two months. Ironically, the cell phone video recorded by Bryan appeared online and helped reveal the alleged murder. (As a general matter, video from cell phones has been invaluable to help root out criminals who parade as police.) Thereafter, in May 2020, the three men were charged with murder and other crimes.
At the start of the investigation and after receiving a voicemail message from Gregory McMichael about the killing, former DA Johnson called Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney George Barnhill, a colleague, to talk to the police about the shooting of Arbery. (Presumably because of the connections to her office, DA Johnson had recused herself.) Almost immediately after speaking with DA Johnson, DA Barnhill advised the police that he saw no grounds for arrests. Apparently unaware of the conversation between DA Johnson and DA Barnhill, the state appointed DA Barnhill to oversee the investigation, four days after the killing of Arbery. Soon thereafter in April 2020, DA Barnhill also stepped aside from the investigation, defending the McMichaels on his way out in the recusal letter.
But the the overarching investigation and the grand jury are alleging that Arbery’s death may be the deed of a criminal clique, in essence “posing” as law enforcement officers. The grand jury has examined the interconnected relationships of the accused killers and DA Johnson’s office. One of those charged (Gregory McMichael) had previously worked as an investigator for DA Johnson and had immediately contacted her after the killing. Travis McMichael, the accused shooter of Arbery, is Gregory McMichael’s son. DA Johnson contacted DA Barnhill about the killing, asked that he speak with the police, and recommended that he handle the investigation. DA Barnhill’s son worked in DA Johnson’s office as an assistant prosecutor.
Although these facts do not show that each person committed a crime, they do suggest that Gregory McMichael knows a lot of key people, now named in an indictment.
No matter their uniform or appearance, we must remember that criminals are not the police, and the police are not criminals.
The indictments in Glynn County are a good first step to root out people who are liable, hiding in our policing system. It is a step towards holding criminals accountable for their actions, especially those who infiltrate the law.
Second, we can strenuously resist efforts to divide citizens and the police. The only beneficiaries of this tactic are the criminals inside and outside of law enforcement.
Instead of defunding the police, let us focus on ridding police departments of polyps that become tumors.
Third, support police and police work, while guaranteeing certain punishment for those who parade as cops, but who are ultimately not at all part of real justice.
Bret Williams is a former assistant U.S. attorney in Atlanta and New York, who’s now in private practice in Atlanta.
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