Officer in Arbery murder trial testifies that Gregory McMichael never used words ‘detain’ or ‘arrest’ in interview

“No, ma’am,” Brandeberry, the state’s fifth witness in the trial, replied.

On the day of the shootiing, Brandeberry was a patrol officer on his second day back after rejoining the force. He was responding to a separate domestic violence call in the Satilla Shores neighborhood outside Brunswick when he was redirected to the scene of the shooting of Arbery.

Brandeberry was assigned to interview Gregory McMichael. He testified to what McMichael told him during his interview on scene using transcripts from his body camera footage. A portion of the footage was shown by the prosecutors and the defense.

“He (Gregory McMichael) had blood on, I believe, it was his left hand,” Brandeberry said.

Gregory McMichael explained that blood by saying that after Arbery was shot and still breathing while lying face down, McMichael pulled out one of Arbery’s arms to check if he had a weapon, Brandeberry testified.

Brandeberry also testified about what Gregory McMichael said about what led to the shooting. McMichael said he saw a Black man run by his house, the officer testified.

According to his transcript, McMichael told Brandeberry, “This guy comes hauling ass down the street. I’m talking about dead run, he’s not jogging.” He told Brandeberry he ran into his house.

McMichael went on to say, “So I haul ass into my bedroom to get (a) .357 Magnum, adding, “I don’t take any chances,” according to the transcript.

Brandeberry testified that McMichael told him he was yelling to Arbery, “Stop, stop. I want to talk to you.” Once, he caught up to Arbery in his truck, yelling, “Stop. God damn it.”

During re-direct by the prosecutor, Brandeberry clarified he could not testify as to how many times Gregory McMichael yelled, “Stop. God damn it.”

Bryan, who recorded a video of the shooting, allegedly hit Arbery with his truck after he joined the McMichaels in chasing Arbery. The three men were allowed to leave the scene and weren’t arrested until after the video of the shooting became public.

The McMichaels and Bryan are charged with malice and felony murder in connection with the killing. They also face charges of aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment. All have pleaded not guilty.

Gregory McMichael said he would have shot Arbery, officer testifies

When asked how many shots were fired, McMichael told the officer that there were “two shots,” according to Brandeberry.

“If I could have got a shot at the guy, I’d have shot him myself, because he was, he was that violently … ” McMichael said, according to the transcript, before the conversation was interrupted by a bystander.

At that point, McMichael started speaking to a civilian who was on the scene, Brandeberry testified. That conversation was picked up by his body camera. The unnamed person inquired about who was shot.

The unidentified man then asked if Travis McMichael was OK.

“He is upset as hell,” Gregory McMichael said, according to the transcript. “He attacked my son.”

“He (Arbery) came at him,” McMichael goes on to say, according to the transcript. “He tried to get the damn shotgun away.”

During cross examination Gregory McMichael’s attorney, Franklin Hogue, read from the transcript that Gregory McMichael thought Arbery had been breaking into houses in the neighborhood.

“This guy, who we’ve seen on video numerous times, breaking into these other houses, he comes hauling ass down the street. I mean, he’s got it hooked up,” McMichael said, according to the transcript.

The prosecution also walked through pictures that police took of Travis McMichael just after the shooting. Travis McMichael is shown with blood on his arms and shirt, with blood spatter also on his jeans and face.

Jurors, all wearing facemasks, appeared to listen attentively to Brandeberry’s testimony, according to the pool.

Wanda Cooper-Jones, Arbery’s mother; Marcus Arbery Sr., Arbery’s father and Leigh McMichael, the mother and wife of Travis and Gregory McMichael, were in the courtroom, according to a pool reporter in the room.

Prosecution and defense detailed events leading up to shooting

Months before the shooting, Larry English, the owner of a home under construction in the Satilla Shores neighborhood, grew concerned about people wandering onto the “open” and “unsecured” construction site, Dunikoski said in her opening statements.

Prosecutors showed the jury surveillance videos of Arbery entering the site, each time wandering around and leaving without incident. Other people had also been present on the property, Dunikoski noted. The homeowner had contacted police about the issue several times, Dunikoski said, but told them Arbery — who was unidentified at the time — had never taken anything.

The day of the shooting, Arbery entered the construction site again and was seen by a neighbor who called authorities on a nonemergency line, Dunikoski said. Arbery soon left and ran further into the neighborhood, at which point he was seen by Greg McMichael, who was in his driveway.

But at that time, neither had any knowledge Arbery had done something wrong, nor that he had been on the construction site, Dunikoski said.

Also last week, Bob Rubin, Travis McMichael’s attorney, said Travis had a run-in on February 11, 2020, with Arbery, who had entered the under-construction property again.

Travis McMichael called 911 in that instance and said the person he encountered had reached into his pocket, according to audio of the call Rubin played in court. This gave Travis McMichael the belief Arbery could be armed, the attorney said.

Arbery had no weapon when he was killed, authorities said.