Citizen’s arrest reform passes Georgia House, heads to Senate

(The Center Square) – The Georgia House unanimously approved a bill Monday that would reform the state’s citizen’s arrest law, marking a historic move fueled by the death of Ahmaud Arbery, who was killed by two residents in Brunswick last year.

Georgia law allows a civilian to arrest someone if he or she witnesses a crime or has “immediate knowledge” someone has committed one. If the crime is a felony and the suspect attempts to escape, the law also allows a person to detain the suspect. House Bill 479 would eliminate the right for civilians to perform those arrests with some exceptions.

Critics of the law said it dates back to before civil rights, when it was used to kill and abuse newly freed Black Georgians legally. Rep. Bert Reeves, R-Marietta, who introduced the bill, said his own research showed it was used to justify lynchings in the state.

Rep. Al Williams, D-Midway, said the legislation would have been “impossible” when he was an employee at the state Capitol in 1975.

“As sad as it is and how it looks like there is no light out of his death, comes this day,” Williams said. “Do we have the opportunity to say to America, “This is not the Georgia of the old.”

HB 479 would allow business owners to detain someone suspected of theft in their establishment. Weight inspectors, licensed private security guards and private investigators also would be allowed to detain someone while on duty. The measure bans the use of force, only if it does not count as self-defense under Georgia law.

Waycross prosecutor George Barnhill cited Georgia’s citizen’s arrest law as a reason not to pursue charges last year against the father-and-son duo of Gregory and Travis McMichael after the pair was caught on video following Arbery, who was jogging in a neighborhood near Brunswick. Travis McMichael shot and killed Arbery, a Black man, after a confrontation Feb. 23, 2020. Many lawmakers Monday reflected on the Arbery family’s pain.

“Ahmaud’s father, Marcus Arbery, has said he does not want his son’s death to be in vain, and I’m gonna tell y’all something. Ahmaud’s death is not in vain,” Reeves said. “We are bringing change. Ahmaud and his life and his legacy [are] going to be that agent of change.”

The bill would allow police officers to make arrests outside of their jurisdiction if they are assisting officers in another jurisdiction while pursuing a suspect who has escaped their jurisdiction, or if they see or have “immediate knowledge” of a crime. The Georgia Sheriffs’ Association said, however, that the provision could create confusion between officers.

The bill cleared the House, 173-0. It now heads to the Senate for consideration. Kemp is expected to sign the legislation which he backed.

“The unanimous passage of HB 479 by the Georgia House is an important step in our efforts to root out injustice in the Peach State, while also protecting the sacred right to defend oneself and others,” Kemp said in a statement. “With broad, bipartisan support, our overhaul of the citizen’s arrest statute strikes a critical balance between protecting the lives and livelihoods of our families, our friends, and our neighbors and preventing rogue vigilantism from threatening the security and God-given potential of all Georgians.”

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