‘It’s not something that I’ll want to see:’ Ahmaud Arbery’s mom won’t watch video showing his death

GLYNN COUNTY, Ga. — Wanda Cooper, the mother of Ahmaud Arbery, the 25-year-old man who was shot and killed while jogging through a Glynn County neighborhood in Georgia, said she will not watch the video that shows his death.

In a video-conference on Wednesday morning, Arbery’s parents and their attorneys Ben Crump and S. Lee Merritt, issued a public statement, after the anonymous video was uploaded on social media on Tuesday.

The graphic video appears to show Arbery jogging through the Satilla Shores neighborhood on February 23 in the middle of the day and two men with guns parked ahead in a truck. When Arbery tries to jog around the truck in his path, a confrontation with one of the armed men happens outside the truck and three gunshots can be heard, killing Arbery.

Merritt believes it is the same video that has been in the possession of law enforcement since the day of Arbery’s death.

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When asked about the video during the video-conference, Cooper said she could not bring herself to watch it.

“I haven’t viewed the video. I don’t think that I’ll ever reach the mental capacity to ever watch the video. You know, I saw my son come in the world, and seeing him leave the world, it’s not something that I’ll want to see, ever,” Cooper said.

Community members of Brunswick and Jacksonville will gather to protest since no arrests have been made. According to the initial Glynn County police report, father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael got in their truck to go after Arbery because they believed he was involved in previous break-ins in the neighborhood. Loved ones said Arbery was an avid runner who was simply jogging on that day.

The Brunswick chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and attorneys for Arbery’s family, are calling for his case to be presented to a grand jury immediately. The NAACP said Al Sharpton will be at Friday’s protest at 10 a.m. in Brunswick at the Glynn County courthouse.

Hundreds are expected to show up at the demonstration in Jacksonville at 5 p.m. Friday at the Duval County Courthouse. They’re expecting a motorcade protest and a demonstration on the courthouse grounds. People are also being asked to honk their car horns and carry signs while walking or driving around the courthouse.

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