Georgia's citizen's arrest overhaul clears first hurdle [View all]
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A Georgia House panel took the first step toward overhauling a Civil War-era statute Thursday by unanimously passing a bill that would no longer allow Georgians to arrest someone they suspect of committing a crime.
The citizen’s arrest law came under renewed scrutiny after it was cited by a prosecutor last year to justify not charging the white men involved in the shooting death of a Black man near Brunswick. In his State of the State address in January, Gov. Brian Kemp announced he would work to overhaul the statute, saying it was an “antiquated law that is ripe for abuse and enables sinister, evil motives.”
House Bill 479 would repeal citizen’s arrest from state law while still allowing employees at businesses, 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.
House Judiciary Chairman Chuck Efstration said it was important that Georgia be the first state in the country to remove citizen’s arrest from the state’s law.
Read more: https://www.ajc.com/politics/georgias-citizens-arrest-overhaul-clears-first-hurdle/SJGOCKTI6NHATAPRUTXPDL6FFM/
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