Officer Ricky Minshew testified Monday that he was in Satilla Shores outside Brunswick, Georgia, on Feb. 23, 2020, seconds away from where Ahmaud Arbery was chased down and shot by Travis McMichael, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
As Minshew drove around to investigate a report of a ”suspicious black male,” he was flagged down by two men. He then drove closer to where Arbery’s body lay.
Minshew, who has been criticized for not rendering aid despite being trained in performing CPR, explained his reasoning for not attending to Arbery while being questioned on the witness stand.
”Being that I was the only officer on scene, without having any other police units to watch my back, there was no way that I could switch to do anything medical and still be able to watch my surroundings,” Minshew said.
Minshew also cited a ”lack of adequate medical training” to handle such a severe injury and said that Arbery ”appeared to be deceased.”
”He had bled out to the point that the blood was exceeding the perimeter of his body,” Minshew said, saying he had heard a ”gurgle,” which he called a ”death rattle.”
Minshew said he questioned William ”Roddie” Bryan, a neighbor of the McMichaels who had joined the pursuit.
Bryan said he was not familiar with Arbery or the McMichaels before the confrontation.
Minshew testified that by the time he had arrived, Bryan had become hesitant about his role in the pursuit of Arbery.
”Should I have been chasing him? I don’t know,” Bryan reportedly told Minshew.
Bryan and the McMichaels have pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges, asserting that they were trying a citizen’s arrest against Arbery after a series of break-ins reportedly committed by a black man in the area.
The three men were released after being questioned at the scene about Arbery’s death, and no arrests were made for more than two months.
