Ahmaud Arbery’s mother files multi-million dollar lawsuit on anniversary of son’s death

Wanda Cooper, the mother of Ahmaud Arbery, filed a multi-million dollar civil lawsuit Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia on the one-year anniversary of her son’s shooting death, NPR reports.

Arbery died last February after being shot three times at close range by a white father and son, Gregory and Travis McMichael, while out for a jog in Glynn County, Ga. The duo claimed they thought the 25-year-old Black man was responsible for a string of recent burglaries in the area.

According to court documents obtained by NPR, the lawsuit seeks damages from the McMichaels and William “Roddie” Bryan, who filmed the fatal shooting.

All three men are facing murder charges over Arbery’s death, filed in May.

Additionally, the court documents name various law enforcement officers and a district attorney involved in the case, whom the lawsuit says acted in a way that protected the three men by attempting to cover-up the incident.  

“For nearly three months, Glynn County police officers, the chief of police, and two prosecutors conspired to hide the circumstances surrounding Ahmaud’s death and to protect the men that murdered him,” the documents state.

The complaint lists 14 counts, which include conspiracy to obstruct justice and failure to intervene, among others. Many of the counts are accompanied by a demand for an excess of $1 million to account for wrongful death damages, attorney’s fees and more.