Ex-cop who shot dead Ahmaud Arbery leaked the shocking viral video of jogger’s death

The ex-cop who appeared on video with his son shooting a black jogger leaked the now viral video of the man’s tragic death because ‘he thought it would exonerate him.’

Brunswick attorney Alan Tucker – who made headlines when he revealed himself to be the one who released the video of the Feb. 23 killing – claimed Greg McMichael wanted to use the video to clear up some rumors that were bubbling up in the community. 

Tucker, who said his parents live in the Satilla Shores area where the shooting occurred, also hoped the video would ease racial tension in the community. 

Travis McMichael

Gregory McMichael (left) is said to have released the video of the Feb. 23 killing of Arbery Ahmaud because he wanted to clear some rumors in the community. He and his son, Travis McMichael, 34, (right) have been jailed on murder charges since May 7.

Brunswick attorney Alan Tucker said that he helped release the video because he 'didn't want the neighborhood to become a Ferguson'

Brunswick attorney Alan Tucker said that he helped release the video because he ‘didn’t want the neighborhood to become a Ferguson’

‘I didn’t want the neighborhood to become a Ferguson,’ Tucker explained to WSB-TV.

Tucker said that Greg McMichael had brought the video, along with others, to his office for assistance to getting the video downloaded so that it could be sent to a talk show host at a local Brunswick radio station. 

The older McMichael went to his lawyer pal as a friend and not as a potential client, the attorney shared. 

Tucker told the local station that the ‘young man (Arbery) did not deserve to be shot’ but would not comment on the charges brought up against his friend or Travis McMichael.

The video fueled a national outcry not just over the killing but also that more than two months passed before arrests were made

The video fueled a national outcry not just over the killing but also that more than two months passed before arrests were made

A map showing the Feb. 23 encounter between Arbery and the McMichaels

A map showing the Feb. 23 encounter between Arbery and the McMichaels

‘There was no reason in the world for Travis to pull a shotgun out of a damn truck. None,’ Tucker added.

But in an interview with Inside Edition, earlier in the month, Tucker was singing a different tune. 

'If he [Arbery] had just froze and hadn't done anything, then he wouldn't have been shot,' Tucker said in an interview earlier in the month

‘If he [Arbery] had just froze and hadn’t done anything, then he wouldn’t have been shot,’ Tucker said in an interview earlier in the month

‘I really thought releasing the video would put the truth out to the public,’ Tucker stated.

‘If he [Arbery] had just froze and hadn’t done anything, then he wouldn’t have been shot.’ 

Arbery was killed February 23 in a pursuit by a white father and son who armed themselves after the 25-year-old black man ran past their yard just outside the port city of Brunswick. 

Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, have been jailed on murder charges since May 7. 

The elder McMichael told police he suspected Arbery was responsible for recent break-ins in the neighborhood. Local police have said there have been no break-ins in the area for the last couple of months.

The video fueled a national outcry not just over the killing but also that more than two months passed before arrests were made.

L. Chris Stewart, an attorney representing Arbery's family, derided the older McMichael for having possession of the video

L. Chris Stewart, an attorney representing Arbery’s family, derided the older McMichael for having possession of the video

S. Lee Merritt, a lawyer representing the Arbery family, took to twitter on Saturday to share that local police had given a property owner the retired officer’s number in December to report when people were on his property.

‘Police told the homeowner where #AhmaudArbery was last seen to contact Greg McMichael if his cameras caught someone on his property,’ he said in the Saturday tweet. ‘McMichael in turn gathered a posse & began hunting for Ahmaud, or someone who fit his description, catching up with him on 2/23/20– killing him.’ 

Attorney Franklin Hogue, hired to defend Gregory McMichael along with his law partner wife, said more details would be revealed at a preliminary court hearing that he plans to request soon.

S. Lee Merritt, a lawyer representing the Arbery family, took to twitter on Saturday to share that local police had given a property owner the retired officer's number in December to report when people were on his property

S. Lee Merritt, a lawyer representing the Arbery family, took to twitter on Saturday to share that local police had given a property owner the retired officer’s number in December to report when people were on his property

‘The truth will reveal this is not just another act of violent racism,’ Franklin Hogue told a news conference outside the couple’s Macon office. ‘Greg McMichael did not commit murder. Greg McMichael is not a party to the crime of murder.’

L. Chris Stewart, an attorney representing Arbery’s family, derided the older McMichael for having possession of the video. 

‘He had that tape by himself. He delivered it. We have questions about the length of it,’ the lawyer said. 

He later added: ‘I have no doubt that Mr. McMichael and his son believe what he did was OK. It just wasn’t. Travis never should have gotten that shotgun. That is significant.’

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