Retired DA investigator accused in Ahmaud Arbery’s death worked for years without arrest powers

One of the men facing murder charges in the death of Ahmaud Arbery spent more than two decades as the chief investigator for the Brunswick District Attorneys Office.

Last Thursday, Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis, were arrested and charged with felony murder and aggravated arrest. We’ve known since we first reported Arbery’s Feb. 23 shooting death that the father of the man who fired the fatal shots was a retired investigator with the DA’s office -- a fact that contributed the Georgia Attorney General’s request for state and federal investigations of why the two men were not arrested for 2½ months.


The I-TEAM learned Tuesday that Gregory McMichael spent many years of his tenure with the District Attorneys Office without maintaining a proper certification to be a law enforcement officer.

Personnel records obtained by News4Jax show that in 2014, McMichael faced suspension of his certification with the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council. Because of his deficit in training hours, McMichael had not had arrest powers since 2006.

McMichael had to turn in his badge, gun and keys and was not allowed to serve subpoenas or work in the field in any manner.