Law Enforcement Ties, Months-Long Delay Complicate Ahmaud Arbery Case

People pray during a rally to protest the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery Friday, May 8, 2020, in Brunswick Ga.

John Bazemore / Associated Press

There was an abundance of evidence when officers arrived at the scene on a February afternoon in coastal Georgia: A man, apparently unarmed, lying on the street, soaked in blood. The suspected shooter, a shotgun, eyewitnesses. And video of the incident.

But no arrests were made in the death of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery for more than two months, not until after video of the shooting in Brunswick surfaced and stoked a national uproar over race relations.

Local prosecutors are now under investigation for their handling of the case.  And a newly appointed investigative agency and prosecutor must untangle the criminal investigation, build a case and make up for lost time.