Former cop charged with Ahmaud Arbery murder previously lost power to arrest for skipping trainings — including use-of-force

Gregory McMichael, the former police officer who is charged with the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, lost his power to arrest on two occasions; most recently in 2019 for skipping trainings — including use-of-force training, the Washington Post reported.

McMichael, 64, is a former Glynn County police officer who retired in June 2019. Four months beforehand, the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council suspended his law enforcement certification for "failure to maintain training for the year 2018."

According to the Post, McMichael fell short in training hours in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010. In at least three of those years, records show, McMichael failed to complete mandatory use-of-force and firearms training. The training deficiency was flagged in 2014.

McMichael applied for a waiver for the missed training hours, saying in his waiver application that "the years 2006 through 2009 were a very difficult period in my life" due to health issues he and his wife suffered during that time.

"I allowed the difficulty of the situation to cloud my judgment," McMichael wrote.

His waiver was approved in 2014, when McMichael was an investigator for the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office.

In 2019, the same problem occurred, and McMichael was reclassified as a non-sworn employee who could "not engage in any activity that would be construed as law enforcement in nature" and could not carry a firearm or badge. He worked in the Camden County District Attorney's office until he retired in June.

Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis, stand charged with murder and aggravated assault in the death of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia. Arbery was fatally shot Feb. 23 after the two men pursued him because they suspected that he had burglarized a home. They were not arrested until last week, after a video of the shooting became public.