Although the pandemic has resulted in fewer people going out for the past few months, there have been incidents where a call for justice is needed. Former vice president Joe Biden urged officials to perform an investigation of the killing of 25-year old Ahmaud Arbery following the surfacing of video footage.
Business Insider reports that Biden called for officials in Georgia to conduct an investigation into the killing of Ahmaud Arbery following the emergence of video footage taken of the incident. “The video is clear: Ahmaud Arbery was killed in cold blood. My heart goes out to his family, who deserve justice and deserve it now. It is time for a swift, full, and transparent investigation into his murder,” Biden tweeted.
Arbery was shot and killed by former police officer Gregory McMichael and his son Travis McMichael back in February. Arbery was going out for a run when the two followed Arbery after arming themselves. Talking to the police, the elder McMichael said that they were acting in self-defense and thought that Arbery was involved in several break-ins that occurred in the area.
A state district attorney is currently trying to get the case onto a grand jury to consider whether the McMichaels should be charged for Arbery’s death. The McMichaels were also unable to answer the dispatcher’s questions pertaining to what criminal activity they suspected Arbery was doing.
According to Arbery’s family, he was unarmed and was likely going out for a run to exercise. The police report did not indicate this. Arbery’s family suspects that the murder was racially motivated. “We can’t do anything because of this corona stuff…We thought about walking out where the shooting occurred, just doing a little march, but we can’t be out right now,” said Arbery’s mother Wanda Cooper.
Biden is currently facing allegations of sexual assault by a former Senate staff member Tara Reade. While her allegation has caused a moral dilemma for many Democrats, a new poll pitting him against President Donald Trump shows that people would still vote for Biden despite being aware of the said allegations.
A poll released by Monmouth University showed Biden leading the poll by nine percent against Trump, 50-41. 86 percent of those who participated in the poll were aware of the allegations made by Reade against Biden. From that percentage, 37 percent said it was likely true, while 32 percent said otherwise, and 31 percent had no opinion.