In the case of the black man killed in Georgia, the white suspects remained at large for weeks. Now the procedure of the public prosecutor's office is to be examined. The police have since released the victim's autopsy report.
Washington (dpa) - After fatal shots at an unarmed black man, the US Attorney General of the State of Georgia, Chris Carr, has opened an investigation into the prosecutors' office.
Georgia's Criminal Police Office said that the agency had been commissioned by Carr. Carr said the release said that prosecutors' actions raised many questions. The GBI should determine "whether the process was undermined in any way". The case caused a sensation and indignation in the United States.
Ahmaud Arbery, 25, had been shot while jogging in the city of Brunswick. The crime happened on February 23, but no one was arrested. The investigation only really got underway when a few days ago the case attracted widespread attention through a disturbing cell phone video. Two white suspects, 64-year-old Gregory M. and 34-year-old son Travis were arrested on Thursday. They are charged with serious physical injury and murder. According to the investigators, the suspects had first followed Arbery with their vehicle and then faced them with firearms.
The older suspect - a former police officer - previously investigated for the prosecutor. Prosecutor George Barnhill, who had taken over the case in the meantime, wrote to the police saying that he saw no reason to arrest the two suspects. Barnhill blamed Arbery's attack on the son for the fatal outcome. Due to the sluggish investigation, Carr had already asked for an independent investigation into the incident on Sunday and the US Department of Justice had called in.
Arbery has been described in the US media as an athlete who trained regularly. The video distributed by his family's lawyer, Lee Merritt, on Twitter shows a jogger walking towards a standing pick-up. As he runs around the vehicle, he is involved in a scuffle with a man with a gun. Another man in the cargo area also seems to be launching a handgun. Then three shots can be heard.
The GBI released the autopsy report on Tuesday. Accordingly, Arbery was hit in the chest by two shots with shotgun ammunition, a third shot grazed his right wrist. No alcohol or drugs were found in his blood.