The two men who shot Ahmaud Arbery on Feb. 23 say they thought he looked like the person suspected in a series of break-ins in a nearby neighborhood.
They claimed they were making an arrest as a private citizen under the citizen's arrest law.
We asked Savannah criminal defense attorney Bobby Phillips to explain what the citizen's arrest law is in simple terms everyone can understand.
"It empowers a citizen to make an arrest, but there are conditions on it. The citizen has to see someone commit a crime or he has to have actual knowledge of the crime having been committed," said Phillips.
So, even though the men who shot Arbery thought he was a burglary suspect, Phillips said they should have gone straight to the police.
"If they believe that he was someone who had committed a crime, their duty would have been to go to an investigative officer, sworn an affidavit to that offense but they had no right to arrest him," said Phillips.
He said the citizen's arrest law has very specific stipulations.
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"The offense has to be committed in the person's presence or within his immediate knowledge," he said.
And there are strict limits on when force can be used.
"A citizen, really the only time that person can use, if it’s not a law enforcement person, can use force is for protection of himself and his property or his residence," said Phillips.
Philips said he’s watched this video of Arbery being shot to death several times.
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"From my interpretation of the law there was not a legal arrest because the man was jogging unless they can prove that they had seen him commit an offense, I don’t see how they can justify that as an arrest by a private person," he said. "I don’t see how they can justify the use of force because the man was unarmed and they could not have been in fear of their life but they used deadly force and then he was not trying to invade their property."
Citizen's arrest law is commonly used in situations like purse snatchings or shoplifting when bystanders can hold the suspect until the police get there.