Ahmaud Arbery’s mother wants to know why man who filmed son’s death didn’t help
William 'Roddy' Bryan recorded Arbery's death but did nothing to stop the confrontation that led to it
Ahmaud Arbery‘s mother wants to know why the man who filmed the fatal shooting death of her 25-year-son didn’t offer him any help.
Wanda Cooper-Jones spoke to Fox News on Monday and questioned the role William “Roddy” Bryan played in her son’s shooting death in Georgia’s Santilla Shores community.
READ MORE: Black district attorney to take over Ahmaud Arbery case
“Why would you videotape it? Why didn’t he do anything to help? Why didn’t he reach out right after the shooting? Why did he only come forward after the video was leaked?” she said.
Bryan explained to WJAX-TV that he was merely being a good samaritan and simply went into shock.
“I had nothing to do with it,” he said. “I am trying to get my life back to normal, and it’s been smeared for the last week. I was told I was a witness and I am not sure what I am.”
Lee Merritt, the attorney for Cooper-Jones, says that Ryan needed to be held accountable for his actions that fateful day in February.
“He is a liar,” Merritt told Fox News.
Merritt maintained that Bryan changed his story, initially telling law enforcement officials that he wanted to trap Arbery, and is now only interested in clearing his name.
“If he was a good Samaritan, he would have honked his horn. It’s worth noting that on the video, he doesn’t even flinch. He doesn’t gasp. Shot after shot. He simply takes it all in,” Merritt told Fox News.
The release of the video led to charges of felony murder and aggravated assault being filed against Gregory and Travis McMichael. The father and son chased Arbery in their truck on Feb. 23 because they initially said he matched the appearance of a burglary suspect.
Minutes before the shooting, Arbery was seen looking around in a home under construction but the owner says no robbery took place. Brunswick, Ga., the closest town to the whiter, more affluent Satilla Shores, is a working-class, majority Black port city of about 16,000 that also serves as a gateway to island beach resorts.
READ MORE: Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms calls Ahmaud Arbery shooting a ‘lynching’
Arbery was hit by three shotgun blasts, according to an autopsy report released by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. One shot grazed his right wrist, and the other two struck him in the chest. Blood tests for drugs and alcohol all came back negative.
Cooper-Jones never imagined that her son would become the center of a national rallying cry for justice.
“I do think there are prejudices and racism, but I never worried about my son,” Cooper-Jones told Fox News. “Maybe he would be pulled over by a cop in his car, but never did I worry that he would be out jogging and shot.”
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s new podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3YArZmbRx2yzax6j7D4OvU
You Might Like
