Letter to William Barr, Department of Justice Attorney General, and Eric Dreiband, Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General - Congressman Neguse, House Judiciary Committee Democrats Demand Doj Open Investigations in Response to Recent Murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, & George Floyd; Pledge Additional Oversight and Legislation

Letter

Dear Attorney General Barr and Assistant Attorney General Dreiband:

We the undersigned Members of the House Judiciary Committee ask that the Department of
Justice: (i) evaluate the actions of local officials responsible for investigating the killing of
Ahmaud Arbery, including the role played by local prosecutors, and whether they conspired to
deprive Mr. Arbery of his constitutional rights, (ii) initiate an investigation into whether the
death of Breonna Taylor, an unarmed COVID-19 first responder who was shot eight times by
Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officers while asleep in her own apartment, was
part of a pattern or practice of unconstitutional conduct by the LMPD, and (iii) investigate the
death of George Floyd while in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD),
including whether it was part of a pattern or practice of unconstitutional conduct by the MPD.
We further ask that the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice Civil Rights
Division, and the Department of Justice Community Relations Service brief the Committee on
the status of these matters at the earliest practical time.

Facts Pertaining to the Death of George Floyd

Mr. Floyd's detention by the MPD, which occurred yesterday and was captured on video, is the
latest in a string of high profile and outrageous extrajudicial killings of African Americans
suspected of committing minor criminal violations and is eerily reminiscent of the NYPD killing
of Eric Garner. The nine-minute video appears to show an officer kneeling on Mr. Floyd's neck
as he begs for help, stating repeatedly that he can't breathe.

MPD officers claim that Mr. Floyd was resisting their attempts to arrest him for forgery--a nonviolent offense. As the officer applied the full force of his full body weight on top of Mr. Floyd
with a knee to the neck, bystanders called for officers to reduce the amount of force being applied. "He's not even resisting arrest right now, bro," one bystander tells the officer and his
partner. One bystander observed that the officer was cutting off Mr. Floyd's air supply:
"You're…stopping his breathing right now, you think that's cool?" After about five minutes
into the video, Mr. Floyd appears to go unconscious. Police then called an ambulance which
took Mr. Floyd to the Hennepin County Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

There simply is no excuse for any law enforcement officer to treat any human being in the
brutally callous way the Minneapolis Police Department treated Mr. Floyd, apparently causing
his death. We applaud MPD's decision to fire four of the officers involved but call for an
investigation into the full extent to which all persons involved may be civilly or criminally liable
for Mr. Floyd's death, including whether it was part of a pattern of civil rights violations by the
MPD.

Facts Pertaining to the Killing of Ahmaud Arbery

The killing of Mr. Arbery and its subsequent investigation are reminiscent of early 20th century
lynchings in the Jim Crow South. On February 23, 2020, Travis and Gregory McMichael killed
Mr. Arbery while he was out for a jog, purportedly because they suspected him of committing a
burglary. Gregory McMichael was a former police officer and investigator with the Glynn
County Police Department (GCPD) and Brunswick Judicial Circuit, the entities responsible for
investigating the killing. The killing was captured on video, yet law enforcement refused to arrest
the McMichaels for 74 days--until the video was leaked to the public on May 7, 2020.

Gregory McMichael's status as a former law enforcement officer, in addition to his relationship
with the officials responsible for investigating Mr. Arbery's killing, raise questions as to whether
some combination of racial bias, conflicts of interest, or gross negligence led to Mr. Arbery's
death and compromised the integrity of the subsequent investigation. Reports indicate that
Gregory McMichael worked as an investigator with the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District
Attorney's Office under Jackie L. Johnson, the attorney who allegedly instructed responding
officers to refrain from arresting the McMichaels at the scene. Reports also indicate that
McMichael had a history of failing to complete required use-of-force and firearms trainings, and
that in 2014, Johnson intervened on his behalf to waive those requirements so that he could
continue to work as an investigator in her office.

In 2019, McMichael was stripped of his arrest powers due to his continued failure to comply
with peace officer use-of-force training standards. On February 27, 2020, the Georgia Attorney
General's Office received a letter from Johnson indicating her intent to recuse herself from the
case. In this letter, she omitted any reference to communications she had with the GCPD
regarding the arrest of the McMichaels.

Reports indicate that Johnson personally recruited George Barnhill, District Attorney for the
Waycross Judicial District, to take over the case following her recusal, another fact she omitted
from her recusal letter. Barnhill's son works as an assistant district attorney under Johnson's
supervision, and apparently worked with McMichael on a prior prosecution involving Mr.
Arbery--yet another fact Johnson omitted in her communications with the Georgia Attorney
General's Office. The day after the killing, Barnhill advised the GCPD that they lacked probable
cause to arrest the McMichaels for killing Mr. Arbery.

On April 7, 2020, Barnhill decided to recuse himself based on his son's work with McMichael
on the prior case involving Mr. Arbery, a fact which Barnhill claims to have discovered in early
March 2020. In two communications regarding his decision to recuse, Barnhill defended his
refusal to charge the McMichaels for killing Mr. Arbery. In doing so, Barnhill accepted the
McMichaels' version of the events, including their self-serving assertions that: (1) they
confronted Arbery with openly drawn firearms because they had probable cause to believe Mr.
Arbery burglarized a home that was under construction, (2) Mr. Arbery violently attacked Travis
McMichael, and (3) Travis killed Mr. Arbery in self-defense. Barnhill also seemed to justify Mr.
Arbery's killing by citing his prior criminal record and that of his family members. Finally,
Barnhill falsely asserted that there was a video recording of Mr. Arbery "burglarizing a home
immediately preceding the chase and confrontation."

Several evidentiary sources undermine Barnhill's conclusions, including video surveillance
footage of several individuals--of different races--walking in and out of the home construction
site that the McMichaels accused Mr. Arbery of burglarizing. Also, the owner of the home
construction site, alleged burglary victim Larry English, stated that there was no property stolen
from the site.

Facts Pertaining to the Killing of Breonna Taylor

As with Mr. Arbery, Breonna Taylor's tragic death highlights the need for federal oversight of
state and local law enforcement agencies to ensure they remain accountable to the communities
they serve. Ms. Taylor was shot eight times and killed by LMPD Criminal Interdiction Division
officers executing a "no-knock" search warrant on her apartment during the early morning hours
of March 13, 2020. Apparently, the subject of the warrant was already in police custody prior to
LMPD officers arriving at Ms. Taylor's apartment. Upon arrival, the officers, who were in plain
clothes, did not knock and did not identify themselves as police. Ms. Taylor's boyfriend,
Kenneth Walker, a licensed gun owner, used his firearm to defend the home against what he
believed to be an attempted burglary. The officers fired a hail of bullets into the apartment,
over twenty rounds, striking Ms. Taylor eight times and killing her. The officers were not
wearing body cameras.

The LMPD claims that despite securing a "no-knock" warrant, the officers knocked multiple
times and announced their presence. LMPD also arrested Mr. Walker for attempted murder and
first-degree assault, despite his claims that he lawfully used his firearm in self-defense pursuant
to the "castle-doctrine" which would be an absolute affirmative defense to the charges. As of
May 13, 2020, Jefferson County Commonwealth's Attorney Tom Wine was continuing to pursue
Walker's prosecution, raising questions about whether the prosecution is intended to provide
cover for charges of officer misconduct. Ms. Taylor's killing is the latest in a string of excessive
force allegations against the LMPD, all of which require federal scrutiny into whether the LMPD
is engaging in a pattern or practice of depriving individuals of their constitutional rights pursuant
to 34 U.S.C. § 12601.

The decision to prosecute Mr. Walker for defending his home with a lawfully possessed firearm,
especially when compared to the investigation into Mr. Arbery's killing, raises serious public
concerns over whether law enforcement can be trusted to enforce the law with fairness and
transparency and in a manner that values the lives of African American citizens.

The killings of Mr. Floyd, Mr. Arbery, and Ms. Taylor all illustrate the need for national
evidence-based policing and training standards that promote safe and humane local, state, and
federal law enforcement practices, as well as an increase in federal resources to incentivize
reform. In response to Ms. Taylor's killing, the LMPD has imposed additional oversight for noknock warrants and now requires all sworn officers to wear body cameras when serving
warrants.

The fair, transparent, and equal administration of justice is a bedrock principle for citizens to
maintain the trust required to govern themselves in an ordered society. However, public trust in
the blind administration of justice is being seriously tested by recent high-profile killings of
African Americans during attempts to enforce state laws as well as by the lack of transparency
regarding how and why those killings occurred. It is for these reasons that we are today asking
the relevant sections of the Department to: (1) review the role of local prosecutors in the Ahmaud Arbery case and whether they conspired to deprive Mr. Arbery of his constitutional rights, (2) initiate a "pattern or practice" investigation into the LMPD in the Breonna Taylor case, (3)support existing investigations into the death of George Floyd while in custody of the Minneapolis Police Department, and (4) provide a briefing to the members of this Committee
regarding all three matters. We look forward to hearing from your office.

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