在一次高风险的行动中，致命一枪的男子特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔Ahmaud Arbery周三下午，他站在证人席上为自己辩护，并作证说，在他所描述的“生死攸关”的遭遇中，他别无选择，只能开枪打死这名25岁的黑人男子。

”他抓起猎枪。35岁的特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔于2020年2月23日在佐治亚州布伦瑞克附近的萨提亚海岸社区作证，讲述了他与阿尔贝里的死亡斗争。

他的律师杰森·谢菲尔德问道:“你当时在想什么?”

特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔哭着回答说:“我在想我的儿子。听起来很奇怪，但这是第一次...这是我首先想到的。”

在检方结束对他、他65岁的父亲格雷戈里·麦克迈克尔和他们的邻居、53岁的威廉·罗德迪·布莱恩的谋杀案后一天，特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔是第一个被传唤作证的辩方证人。

特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔在开始作证时说，他知道自己没有义务作证。

“你想作证吗?”谢菲尔德问。

通过美联社

辩护律师杰森·谢菲尔德在格伦审判期间询问特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔...

特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔回应道:“我想给出我自己的说法。我想解释发生了什么，并能够从我看到的方式说出发生了什么。”

麦克迈克尔一家和布莱恩一家对谋杀、严重袭击和企图非法监禁的指控不认罪。

在蒂莫西·沃姆斯利法官拒绝了每个被告的无罪释放请求后，辩方开始陈述案情，因为他们的律师认为该州没有履行其举证责任。

萨提亚海岸的犯罪率激增

特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔作证说，当他2018年第一次搬进他父母在萨提亚海岸附近的家时，海滨社区大多很平静，到处都是退休人员和有孩子的年轻家庭。

“这是典型的小镇街区之一，”他说。“你会看到人们骑着高尔夫球车，遛狗，带着孩子，还有小电动轮。...这只是一个真正安静的社区。”

但是特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔作证说，在搬到萨提亚海岸后，他和他的邻居开始经历一波犯罪浪潮，经常发生入室盗窃和“更多可疑的人潜伏在周围。”

他在谈到萨提亚海岸的犯罪时说:“起初很少，但它开始发展起来了。

他说他自己的车多次被盗，以至于他都没锁。他还说，2020年1月1日，一把史密斯和韦森手枪从他停在父母家外面的卡车上被偷了。

特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔说，犯罪高峰是他家里的话题，并成为他的邻居和社区观察脸书页面上讨论的主要话题。

海岸警卫队训练

谢菲尔德随后询问了特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔2007年至2016年担任美国海岸警卫队成员的背景。他说，他在海岸警卫队时受过广泛的执法培训，包括使用致命武力和降级，除了主要的机械师工作之外，他还参加了搜救任务、移民和缉毒行动。

他说，他接受的一种降级技术是使用枪支作为威慑。

泳池/美国广播公司新闻

特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔在格林县法院出庭作证，不..

麦克迈克尔作证说:“根据我在训练中了解到的情况，你向某人拔出武器，通常会导致人们后退或意识到发生了什么。

他补充说，作为一名平民，他曾经两次在自动取款机上展示他的枪，吓跑了潜在的劫匪，另一次阻止了一名潜在的劫车者。

他说，作为他在军队训练的一部分，他还学会了在对抗中不要让别人拿走他的枪，因为如果发生这种情况，他们可能会用它来伤害他和其他人。

遇到小偷

谢菲尔德将特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔的注意力引向了2020年2月11日发生的一件事，那是在与阿贝里遭遇致命一击的12天前。

他作证说，当他开车去加油时，他看到一名男子从他父母家街上的一所正在建设的房子外面，从他面前冲过马路，开始“穿过阴影”。

特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔说:“我下了车，问他在做什么，也许把他赶走。

他说那个人从阴影中向他走来。

“他拉起衬衫，伸手去拿口袋或腰带，”他作证说。“这让我大吃一惊。我吓坏了。”

他作证说，他回家打了911，武装自己，和他的父亲回到了家里，但小偷已经消失了。

特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔作证说，他的邻居给他看了一个可疑男子的安全视频，有人在他父母家附近正在建造的房子里和周围多次看到他。他说，这似乎是他在未完工的房子里遇到的同一个人。

2020年2月23日

谢菲尔德问特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔2020年2月23日发生的事情，也就是阿尔贝里被杀的那一天。

他作证说，那天下午他在父母家里，他的父亲格雷戈里·麦克迈克尔冲进来告诉他，特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔在建筑工地外遇到的那个人刚刚跑过他们的房子。

特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔作证说，他抓起猎枪走到街上，在那里他看到一个邻居指着他的方向，显然是在向这个人的方向发出信号。

他说他和他的父亲上了他的白色小货车，去寻找那个人。他说，他看到原来是阿贝里的那个人跑在他前面，他把车停在他旁边，认出他就是12天前在未完工的房子里遇到的那个人。

他说，他问父亲是否报了警，误以为听到父亲说报了警。

特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔说，当他把车停到阿贝里时，他问道:“你在干什么?这是怎么回事?”

他说，阿贝里没有回应，继续奔跑。他说他又追上了阿贝里，试图引起他的注意。

“我正在努力降级。我知道这可能会有任何结果，”特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔说。“我说，‘停一会儿。请停下来。"

他说，阿贝里看着他，牙关紧咬，眉头紧锁。

”他看上去很生气。疯了。这根本不是我所期望的，”他谈到阿贝里时说。

特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔说，阿贝里转过身，开始往另一边跑。

他说，当他再次追上阿贝里时，阿贝里短暂地停下来，好像要和他说话。但是特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔说，当他告诉他警察在路上的时候，阿尔贝逃跑了。他说，当他停下来时，他的父亲从卡车上下来，爬上皮卡的床，这样他就不必坐在他车辆乘客侧的儿童汽车座椅上。

特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔作证说，当他和他的父亲跟随阿贝里时，他从未在阿贝里挥舞过猎枪。

他说，他继续在附近转来转去，试图跟踪阿贝里。

特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔说，他拐过一条街，看到阿贝瑞朝他跑来，并注意到一辆由布莱恩驾驶的黑色卡车正跟着他。

“Arbery先生和车辆在一起，他和卡车一起跑。当我们越来越近的时候，他抓住了卡车，看起来像是在试图进入卡车，”特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔作证说。

“我不知道卡车是从哪里来的。Arbery先生在卡车的左侧，”Travis McMichael作证说。“我不知道这家伙是怎么回事。我不想让局势升级。我的想法是他为什么袭击一辆卡车?他为什么撞一辆卡车。”

他说他把他的跑步车停在公园里，然后出来了。

Travis McMichael说，当Arbery来到他的卡车后面不到10英尺的地方时，他大声叫那个人停下来。他说他把手伸进卡车去拿猎枪，然后阿贝里转身朝相反的方向跑去。

他说他又问父亲有没有报警，父亲告诉他没有手机。

特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔说，他把手伸进卡车，拿起手机，拨打了911。当他抬起头时，他说他看到阿贝里以一个角度朝他的方向跑回来，后面跟着一辆黑色的小卡车。

推拉

特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔说，当阿尔贝里“像跑回来一样”向他跑来时，他把手机给了父亲。他说，他在阿贝里举起了武器的枪管，阿贝里转向他的右侧，来到他卡车的乘客一侧，他短暂地看不见他。

他说他走到卡车前部，以为阿贝里会一直跑下去。

“我本打算让他继续跑下去，”特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔说。

斯蒂芬·莫顿-普尔/盖蒂图像公司

特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔在格林县法院受审时在证人席上发言...

但是一旦阿贝里到达他的卡车前部，特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔说阿贝里向左拐，并且“在我身上”他说阿贝里抓起了他的猎枪。

他作证说，在海岸警卫队期间，他接受过训练，后来又训练其他人在有人抢你的枪时做“推拉”动作。

“所以，我推拉，仍然被击中，”特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔作证说。

谢菲尔德问:“你从他的手里挣脱出来了吗?”

特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔回应道:“我不相信我做到了。”

他说，当他和阿贝瑞在抢枪的时候，他觉得自己被制服了。

“我知道我正在失去这个，”特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔作证说。“我知道，如果我会绊倒，或者他会得到一个...击打我头部，否则我会失去猎枪的握持，否则我会被枪杀，或者我会有严重的麻烦。”

他说他扣动了扳机，向阿贝里开枪，但那个人一直和他打架。

“我又开枪了，因为我还在战斗。他一直缠着我。他仍然全身都是猎枪，”他作证说。

他说，阿贝里仍然没有停止挣扎。

“所以，我再次开枪阻止了他，”特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔说。

他说，在开了第三枪后，阿贝里放下枪，开始奔跑，随后他倒下并死亡。

“我爸爸出来了，他大喊大叫，说他把手放在下面，”他谈到阿贝里时说。”我转过身。我们到了那里，把他的手从身下抽出来，意识到他已经死了。我抬头一看，警察就在那里。”

交叉询问

在检察官琳达·杜尼可斯基(Linda Dunikoski)的盘问中，特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔(Travis McMichael)承认，当他开始与Arbery搏斗时，他的猎枪上装有7枚猎枪子弹。他还承认，他的武器最初是安全的，以防止它意外放电。

“所以，你所要做的就是取下保险，扣动扳机，以便杀死某人。正确吗?”杜尼可斯基问。

特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔回应道:“开枪。”

在法官结束当天的庭审前，杜尼可斯基短暂询问了特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔。

检察官的交叉询问定于周四上午继续。

Travis McMichael testifies in his own defense in Ahmaud Arbery case

In a high-stakes move, Travis McMichael, the man who fatally shotAhmaud Arbery, took the witness stand in his own defense Wednesday afternoon and testified that during what he described a "life-or-death" encounter he had no choice but to shoot the 25-year-old Black man.

"He grabs the shotgun. And I believe I was struck on that first instance that we made contact," the 35-year-old Travis McMichael testified of his death struggle with Arbery on Feb. 23, 2020, in the Satilla Shores neighborhood near Brunswick, Georgia.

His attorney Jason Sheffield asked, "What were you thinking at that moment?"

Breaking into tears, Travis McMichael answered, "I was thinking of my son. Sounds weird, but that was the first ... this is the first thing that hit me."

Travis McMichael was the first defense witness called to testify a day after the prosecution rested its murder case against him, his 65-year-old father, Gregory McMichael, and their neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan, 53.

Travis McMichael began his testimony by saying he was aware he had no obligation to testify.

"Do you want to testify?" Sheffield asked.

Travis McMichael responded, "I want to give my side of the story. I want to explain what happened and to be able to say what happened from the way I see."

The McMichaels and Bryan have pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, aggravated assault and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.

The defense began putting on its case after Judge Timothy Walmsley rejected each defendant's request to acquit them after their lawyers argued the state had not met its burden of proof.

Crime spike in Satilla Shores

Travis McMichael testified that when he first moved into his parents' home in the Satilla Shores neighborhood in 2018, the waterfront community was mostly peaceful, full of retirees and young families with children.

"It's one of the typical small-town neighborhoods," he said. "You'd have people ride around golf carts, people walking dogs, people with their kids, the little power wheels. ... And it's just a real quiet community."

But Travis McMichael testified that after moving to Satilla Shores, he and his neighbors began to experience a crime wave with frequent burglaries and "more suspicious persons lurking around."

"It was rare at first, but it started building up," he said of crime in Satilla Shores.

He said his own car was burglarized multiple times to the point he would just leave it unlocked. He also said a Smith & Wesson pistol was stolen from his truck parked outside his parents' house on Jan. 1, 2020.

Travis McMichael said the crime spike was the talk of his household and became a major topic of discussion among his neighbors and on a community watch Facebook page.

Coast Guard training

Sheffield then asked Travis McMichael about his background as a member of the U.S. Coast Guard between 2007 and 2016. He said he had extensive training in law enforcement, including the use of deadly force and de-escalation, while in the Coast Guard and that besides his primary job as a mechanic, he also participated in search-and-rescue missions, and immigration and drug enforcement operations.

He said one de-escalation technique he was trained to do was to use a firearm as a deterrent.

"You pull a weapon on someone from what I've learned in my training that usually causes people to back off or to realize what's happening," McMichael testified.

He added that on two occasions as a civilian he once scared off would-be robbers at an ATM machine by showing his gun and on another occasion deterred a potential carjacker.

He said that as part of his training in the military he also learned never to let someone take his gun in a confrontation because if that occurs they could use it to harm him and others.

Encounter with prowler

Sheffield directed Travis McMichael's attention to an incident that occurred on Feb. 11, 2020, 12 days before the fatal encounter with Arbery.

He testified that he was driving to get gas when he saw a man dart across the road in front of him and start "creeping through the shadows" outside a home under construction down the street from his parents' house.

"I got out of the vehicle to ask him what he was doing, maybe run him off," Travis McMichael said.

He said the man came out of the shadows toward him.

"He pulls up his shirt and goes to reach for his pocket or his waistband area," he testified. "It startled me. It freaked me out."

He testified that he went home and called 911, armed himself and returned to the house with his father, but the prowler had vanished.

Travis McMichael testified that his neighbors showed him security videos of a suspicious man seen several times in and around the house under construction near his parents' home. He said it appeared to be the same man he had encountered at the unfinished home.

Feb. 23, 2020

Sheffield asked Travis McMichael about the events of Feb. 23, 2020, the day Arbery was killed.

He testified that he was inside his parents' home that afternoon when his father, Gregory McMichael rushed in and told him the man Travis McMichael had encountered outside the construction site had just run past their house.

Travis McMichael testified that he grabbed his shotgun and went out to the street, where he saw a neighbor pointing in his direction, apparently signaling the direction the man was running.

He said he and his father got into his white pickup truck and went searching for the man. He said he saw the man who turned out to be Arbery running in front of him and that he pulled up alongside him and recognized him as the same man he encountered at the unfinished home 12 days earlier.

He said he asked his father if he had called the police and mistakenly thought he heard his dad say he had.

Travis McMichael said that when he pulled up to Arbery, he asked, "What are you doing? What's going on?"

He said Arbery did not respond and kept running. He said he caught up to Arbery again and tried to get his attention.

"I'm trying to de-escalate. I knew that this could go any way," Travis McMichael said. "I say, 'Stop for a minute. Please stop.'"

He said Arbery looked at him with his teeth clenched and his brow furrowed.

"He looked very angry. Mad. It wasn't what I expected at all," he said of Arbery.

Travis McMichael said Arbery turned and began to run the other way.

He said that when he caught up to Arbery again, Arbery briefly stopped as if he was going to speak to him. But Travis McMichael said that when he told him the police were on the way, Arbery bolted. He said that when he stopped, his father got out of the truck and climbed into the pickup's bed so he wouldn't have to sit on a child's car seat that was on the passenger side of his vehicle.

Travis McMichael testified that he never brandished his shotgun at Arbery as he and his father followed Arbery.

He said he continued to circle the neighborhood trying to keep track of Arbery.

Travis McMichael said he turned down a street and saw Arbery running his way and noticed a black truck, driven by Bryan, was following him.

"Mr. Arbery is with the vehicle, he is running with the truck. As we get closer, he's grabbing the truck, looked like he was trying to get in the truck," Travis McMichael testified.

"I didn't know where the truck came from. Mr. Arbery was at the left side of the truck," Travis McMichael testified. "I don't know what's going on with this guy. I don't want to escalate the situation. My thought was why is he attacking a truck? Why is he hitting a truck."

He said he put his running vehicle in park and got out.

Travis McMichael said that as Arbery came within 10 feet of the rear of his truck, he yelled at the man to stop. He said he reached into his truck to get his shotgun and that Arbery turned and ran in the opposite direction.

He said he asked his father again if he had called the police and his dad told him that he didn't have his phone.

Travis McMichael said he reached into his truck to get his cellphone and called 911. When he looked up, he said he saw Arbery running back toward his direction at an angle followed by a black pickup truck.

Push and pull

Travis McMichael said that as Arbery ran toward him "like a running back" he gave his cellphone to his father. He said he raised the barrel of his weapon at Arbery, who veered to his right to the passenger side of his truck and that he briefly lost sight of him.

He said he went to the front of his truck thinking that Arbery would just keep running.

"I was going to let him keep running," Travis McMichael said.

But once Arbery reached the front of his truck, Travis McMichael said Arbery turned left and was "on me." He said Arbery grabbed his shotgun.

He testified that during his time in the Coast Guard he was trained and later trained others to do a "pull-push" maneuver when someone grabs your gun.

"So, I push and pull, still getting hit," Travis McMichael testified.

Sheffield asked, "And did you get it free from his grip?"

Travis McMichael responded, "I don't believe I did."

He said that as he and Arbery struggled over the gun he felt he was being overpowered.

"I knew that I was I was losing this," Travis McMichael testified. "I knew that if I would have tripped or if he would have got a ... strike on my head or I would have lost that grip on a shotgun that I would've been shot or I would have been in serious trouble."

He said he pulled the trigger, shooting Arbery, but that the man kept fighting with him.

"I shot again because I was still fighting. He was all over me. He was still all over the shotgun," he testified.

He said Arbery still didn't stop struggling.

"So, I shot again to stop him," Travis McMichael said.

He said that after firing the third shot, Arbery let go of the gun and started to run before he collapsed and died.

"My dad came out and he was yelling that he's got his hand underneath him," he said of Arbery. "I turned around. We got over there and pulled his hand out from under him and realized that he was deceased. And I looked up and the police were right there."

Cross-examination

During a cross-examination from prosecutor Linda Dunikoski, Travis McMichael agreed that his shotgun was loaded with seven shotgun shells when he began struggling with Arbery. He also conceded that his weapon's safety was initially on to prevent it from discharging accidentally.

"So, all you had to do is take the safety off and pull the trigger in order to kill someone. Correct?" Dunikoski asked.

Travis McMichael responded, "To shoot."

Dunikoski briefly questioned Travis McMichael before the judge ended court for the day.

The prosecutor's cross-examination is scheduled to continue on Thursday morning.