A campaign to let local voters decide whether to abolish the scandal-plagued Glynn County police department has gone to Gov. Brian Kemp for his approval or veto, having gained support in the Georgia legislature following the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery.
The state House voted 159-3 on Monday to approve Senate Bill 504, creating a nonbinding advisory referendum on whether to abolish the department and hand its law enforcement responsibilities back to the elected county sheriff in unincorporated parts of the coastal Georgia county.
A separate measure that would make the referendum binding passed the House on Friday by a vote of 152-3 and is pending before the Senate. If that also passes in the waning days of this legislative session, it would fall to Kemp to decide how much power to give the county’s voters to decide the issue in November.
Glynn County commissioners oppose both measures, saying two local Republican lawmakers are trying to help their political ally, Sheriff Neal Jump.
Arbery was fatally shot on Feb. 23 when a white father and son armed themselves and pursued the 25-year-old black man running in their neighborhood. More than two months passed before Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, were charged with felony murder and aggravated assault. Arrests came after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case from local prosecutors.
