BRUNSWICK, Ga. —

A police officer testified Thursday that he told a white father and son on trial for hate crimes in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery there was no evidence the 25-year-old Black man had stolen anything after security cameras recorded him wandering inside a home under construction several times.

“Nothing has been taken and the only crime we had was trespassing,” said Glynn County police Officer Robert Rash, who took the witness stand on the fourth day of the trial in U.S. District Court in the Georgia port city of Brunswick.

Father and son Greg and Travis McMichael and a neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, were convicted in state court of murdering Arbery and sentenced to life in prison. Now they're standing trial again in a separate case brought by federal prosecutors, who charged them with violating Arbery's civil rights and targeting him because he was Black.

The jury has been shown roughly two dozen text messages and social media posts in which Travis McMichael and Bryan used racist slurs and made derogatory comments about Black people. Some of Travis McMichael's posts described violence against Black people.

Investigators searching Travis McMichael's truck two months after the shooting photographed a Confederate flag sticker inside the lid of a tool box attached to the bed of the pickup, Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Jason Seacrist testified Thursday.

He said a decorative vanity plate depicting Georgia's former state flag, which prominently featured a Confederate emblem, had been removed from the truck's bumper before GBI agents photographed it in May 2020. The tag can be seen on the truck in police body camera footage from the day of the shooting. Georgia retired that version of its flag two decades ago.

The McMichaels and Bryan have pleaded not guilty to the hate crime charges. Defense attorneys say the three didn't chase and kill Arbery because of his race but acted on earnest, though erroneous, suspicion that Arbery had committed crimes in their neighborhood.

However, Bryan told investigators he had never seen Arbery before the chase, which Bryan joined after Arbery ran past his home with the McMichaels' truck close behind him. Bryan told police he didn't know the McMichaels either but called out to them: “Y'all got him?”

“I just figured he'd stolen something," Bryan told Seacrist in a recorded interview played in court. “He might have shot somebody. I didn't know what was up.”

The McMichaels were aware that a young Black man had been seen several times in the unfinished home in the months before the shooting. When Arbery ran past their home, five doors down from that property, on Feb. 23, 2020, they grabbed guns and pursued him in a pickup truck. Bryan joined the chase and recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael blasting Arbery with a shotgun.

No arrests were made until the graphic video leaked online two months later and Arbery’s killing became part of a larger national reckoning over racial injustice.

Twelve days before the shooting, Rash was dispatched to the construction site after Travis McMichael called 911, breathlessly reporting that a Black man he had spotted outside the home ran inside.

“He reached into his pocket and ran into the house,” Travis McMichael told a police dispatcher. “I don't know if he's armed or not.”

The man he had confronted, later determined to be Arbery, was gone when police arrived. Rash called the unfinished home's owner, confirming none of the security videos showed Arbery stealing from the property.

“He hasn't seen him actually take anything,” Rash told both McMichaels on video recorded by the officer's body camera that night.

Travis McMichael also told the 911 operator that “we've been having a lot of burglaries and break-ins around here lately."

Rash said that wasn't true. He testified there wasn't a single burglary in the Satilla Shores neighborhood where the McMichaels and Bryan lived in the year before the shooting. He noted that items had been stolen from unlocked cars — including guns taken from two vehicles, one a handgun that belonged to Travis McMichael.

Rash noted a security camera recorded a white man suspected of the other gun theft in the area. He also testified that a white couple carrying what looked like a canvas bag had been recorded in November 2019 walking into the same unfinished home that Arbery visited several times.

Greg McMichael's attorney, A.J. Balbo, said it was Arbery's repeated trips to the unfinished home at night, not his race, that made the McMichaels wary of him.

“Would you agree with me, sir, that the fact that Mr. Arbery had been in the residence in the dark in October, in November, in December and in February is a little suspicious?” Balbo asked Rash.

The officer said he agreed.

“Had the white couple repeatedly come after dark, over and over, that would have been suspicious," Rash said.

This week marks the end of another long and busy year in the world of news.

2021 was a year filled with political turmoil and extreme weather events, with the specter of the coronavirus constantly lingering in the background.

But 2021 also showed the best of humanity — people coming together to uplift others when times got tough.

Re-live some of the biggest moments from 2021 in the timeline below.

Jan. 6 — Supporters of President Donald Trump storm the U.S. Capitol as Congress certifies presidential election results. Five people died in the riots, and a week later, Trump would be impeached for the second time in his only term in office.

Jan. 20 — Under increased security in Washington, Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States.

Feb. 13 — Trump is acquitted in the impeachment trial stemming from his actions amid Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol. Seven Republican senators voted to convict Trump, though he easily avoids conviction by a total of 10 votes.

Feb. 13 to Feb. 17 — Winter storms cause weeklong power outages in Texas, killing more than 200 people.

Feb. 18 — In a heart-pounding and gripping landing sequence, NASA rover Perseverance completes its 300 million mile journey by successfully landing on Mars.

March 16 — A gunman kills eight people — including six Asian women — at several Atlanta-area spas. The shootings draw more attention to rising instances of hate crimes against people in the AAPI community that began with the arrival of COVID-19 in 2020.

April 11 — Police officer Kim Potter fatally shoots motorist Daunte Wright in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, sparking protests. In December, that officer, Kim Potter, would be convicted of two counts of manslaughter.

April 15 — Daily COVID-19 vaccinations peak in the U.S. as age restrictions are lifted. The daily vaccination rate would dip in the summer, but begin to rise in the later months of 2021 as boosters are approved and mandates go into effect.

April 20 — Ex-officer Derek Chauvin is convicted of George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis. Floyd's death in 2020 sparked months of protests against police brutality and systemic racism; activists greet Chauvin's conviction with cheers.

May 6 — Hackers shut down Colonial Gasoline Pipeline with a ransomware attack, leading to gas shortages in some regions. The hack is the highest-profile ransomware attack in a year that saw a disturbing increase in such incidents.

June — Delta variant arrives in the U.S., spelling the start of a summer surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the delta variant would cause a steady rise in cases and deaths starting in June, leading to a peak in early September.

June 24 — A condo tower collapses in Surfside, Florida, killing 98 people.

Aug. 10 — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announces his resignation amid sexual harassment allegations. He announced his resignation a week after New York AG Letitia James published a damming report that spelled out several workplace harassment and sexual harassment charges against Cuomo.

Aug. 30 — The last U.S. troops leave Afghanistan, marking the end of America's longest war. The withdrawal grew chaotic in the final weeks after the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan fell to the Taliban.

Sept. 1 — A controversial "fetal heartbeat bill" takes effect in Texas that bans nearly all abortions in the state. The newly-conservative Supreme Court later declines to take action to pause the law while lower courts sort out lawsuits levied in an attempt to stop it.

Oct. 18 — Former Sec. of State Colin Powell dies of COVID-19 at the age of 84.

Nov. 5 — Ten people die, and hundreds are injured in a crushing crowd at Travis Scott's Astroworld music festival in Houston.

Nov. 19 — Kyle Rittenhouse is acquitted of all charges stemming from fatal shootings that took place in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during protests following the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Rittenhouse was just 17 at the time of the shooting and not legally allowed to own a gun, but jurors determined he acted in self-defense.

Nov. 24 — Three Georgia men are convicted of the 2020 murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man who was out for a jog in his hometown of Brunswick, Georgia. The men had accused Arbery of a series of break-ins in the area; jurors determine the men were not justified to detain Arbery on the grounds of a since-repealed citizen's arrest law.

Dec. 10 — Tornadoes kill dozens of people in western Kentucky and surrounding states.

Dec. 11 — A day after losing his home in those Kentucky tornadoes, Jordan Baize inspires millions across the country by playing "There's Something About That Name" on his family piano, which survived the storms.

Dec. 23 — Kim Potter is convicted of manslaughter from the April shooting of Daunte Wright.

Dec. 29 — Ghislaine Maxwell is convicted of sex trafficking charged linked to her involvement with Jeffrey Epstein.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. — During closing arguments Monday in the murder trial for the three white men involved in fatally shooting Ahmaud Arbery, the prosecution argued that none of the suspects had cause to make a citizen's arrest when they saw him in their neighborhood.

Linda Dunikoski told jurors in her closing arguments Monday that the three defendants decided to pursue Arbery "because he was a Black man running down their street."

The closing arguments come after both the prosecution and defense concluded arguments to the jury last week. Reports also emerged last week that a lawyer for one of the men on trial sought a plea deal before the defense rested its case.

According to prosecutors, Arbery was jogging in Brunswick on Feb. 23, 2020, when he briefly stopped inside a home under construction.

When the McMichaels saw Arbery in the area, they armed themselves and chased after him in a pickup truck because they believed him to be responsible for a series of break-ins in the neighborhood.

Video from the incident showed the McMichaels drive up beside Arbery. A struggle followed for a few moments before Travis McMichael fired his gun, and Arbery stumbled to the ground.

Defense attorneys insist the three men committed no crimes and that Travis McMichael only fired his weapon after a "violent encounter" with Arbery. The defense has also argued that the men were empowered to take Arbery into custody thanks to a since-repealed citizen's arrest law that was in effect at the time of the shooting.

Prosecutors would not file charges in connection with the shooting for nearly three months and only after the video of the shooting became public.

Between the shooting and the video's release, the case passed between several judicial circuits and district attorneys. Some of them worked with Greg McMichael during his time working as a police officer and investigator.

One ex-prosecutor, Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson, has been indicted for misconduct related to her work on the case.

The McMichaels were arrested and charged with murder on May 7, 2020. Bryan was arrested two weeks later.

Experts say disturbing videos surrounding the recent deaths of two men will take a psychological toll on many in the black community.

The images of the moments leading up to the deaths of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery have spread widely.

A psychology professor we spoke to says seeing those videos is comparable in a lot of ways to trauma.

“What concerns me most about it is people don't realize the impact of that and being exposed to it,” said Dr. Rheeda Walker, a professor of psychology at the University of Houston and the author of the recently released book,

“The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health.”

Echoing these concerns, Rwenshaun Miller says the distribution of these videos is piling on during an already stressful time. Miller is the founder of a nonprofit aimed at increasing awareness for black mental health, called

Eustress, Inc.

“Especially during the time of a pandemic, you would think that you know one of the main concerns would be us addressing the issues when it comes to the virus, but now we also still have to deal with the weight of being black in America,” said Miller.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness notes that African Americans are 10% more likely to be impacted by psychological stress. However, only about 30% of black Americans with a mental illness will get treatment each year.

Both Miller and Walker suggest writing as a form of coping. Miller says it's good to have someone you can trust to talk it out with. Walker even takes it a step further, saying you could join or contribute to advocacy groups to channel your emotions into positive efforts toward change. Both strongly suggest taking breaks from social media or the news.

“Watch what you consume. It's one thing for us to be aware of what's going on, but then it's another thing to be obsessed with it,” said Miller.

“We want to be informed, that's important. We want to know what's going on, but maybe take it in smaller doses or maybe turning things on later in the day rather than starting the day with this exposure,” said Walker.

Walker says it's important to pay attention to your feelings. Don't just ignore them. And even if you're a bit overwhelmed, it's okay to step back.

Opening statements will take place Friday in the trial of three white men in Brunswick, Georgia, who are charged with chasing and fatally shooting Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man.

The death in February 2020 was recorded on video and caused a national outcry.

Jurors are to be sworn in Friday for the trial of father and son Greg and Travis McMichael and their neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan, who have been charged with murder and other crimes.

Jury selection concluded Wednesday when the judge declined to override decisions on the final makeup of the jury. The 12-person panel consists of 11 white jurors and one Black juror.

While the prosecution objected and Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley agreed there appeared to be "intentional discrimination," he said he was limited by Georgia law because defense attorneys stated non-racial reasons for excluding Black panelists from the jury, The Associated Press reports.

According to prosecutors, Arbery was jogging in Brunswick on the day of the shooting when he briefly stopped inside a home under construction.

When the McMichaels saw Arbery in the area, they armed themselves and chased after him in a pickup truck because they believed him to be responsible for a series of break-ins in the neighborhood.

Video from the incident showed the McMichaels drive up beside Arbery. A struggle followed for a few moments before Travis McMichael fired his gun, and Arbery stumbled to the ground.

Defense attorneys insist the three men committed no crimes and that Travis McMichael only fired his weapon after a "violent encounter" with Arbery.

Prosecutors would not file charges in connection with the shooting for nearly three months and only after the video of the shooting became public.

Between the shooting and the video's release, the case passed between several judicial circuits and district attorneys. Some of them worked with Greg McMichael during his time working as a police officer and investigator.

One ex-prosecutor, Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jackie Johnson, has been indicted for misconduct related to her work on the case.

The McMichaels were arrested and charged with murder on May 7, 2020. Bryan was arrested two weeks later.