Kemp to sign overhaul of Georgia's citizen's arrest law today
Source: AJC
Gov. Brian Kemp is scheduled to sign legislation before Monday’s veto deadline that would overhaul a Civil War-era state law that allows Georgians to arrest someone they believe has committed a crime.
The law was thrust back into the spotlight after it was cited by a prosecutor who said police should not charge three white men who followed Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black Brunswick-area man, before one shot and killed him. The three have since been charged with murder and pleaded not guilty, citing the citizen’s arrest statute.
Arbery’s mother is expected to attend Monday’s 2 p.m. bill signing ceremony.
House Bill 479 was a bipartisan priority after Arbery’s death this year and passed the General Assembly with broad support — only one lawmaker voted against the measure.
HB 479 would repeal citizen’s arrest from state law while still allowing employees at businesses, those conducting business on someone else’s property, security officers, private investigators and inspectors at truck scales to detain someone they believe has committed a crime. The bill also would allow law enforcement officers to make arrests outside their jurisdictions.
Read more: https://www.ajc.com/politics/kemp-to-sign-overhaul-of-georgias-citizens-arrest-law-today/L2M4VWMY4RAD3LQYEJUG26TGWU/
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