Ahmaud Arbery’s mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the three white men who chased her son through a Georgia neighborhood and shot him to death, claiming that he was a burglar and that they were defending neighborhood property, NPR reports.
The lawsuit, filed by Wanda Cooper, seeks in excess of one million dollars, naming father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael, and William “Roddie” Bryan, who saw Arbery jogging through the neighborhood and without evidence, accused him of robbing construction sites in the community. They chased Arbery through the development, where the McMichaels cornered and shot Arbery, with Bryan recording the event on his phone.
The suit states that the trio, who are all white, conspired to deny Arbery his civil rights and liberties. Cooper filed it on the first anniversary of her son’s death.
Cooper also named local police officials in the lawsuit, alleging that they new the McMichaels and Bryan were a danger, and that the police actively attempted to cover up the criminal actions of the trio by initially providing statements that the homicide was justified. She alleges the cover up was undertaken because Gregory McMichael was a retired law enforcement officer known to the Glynn County officers who responded to the call.