My neighborhood (actually a very nice neighborhood) had a rash of burglaries and formed a very active neighborhood watch. If a car starts driving around suspiciously, it is often followed, usually by retired guys in golf carts. The police work closely with our neighborhood watch and encouraged it.
These aren't vigilantes. They are people protecting their homes, families, and property.
My neighborhood (actually a very nice neighborhood) had a rash of burglaries and formed a very active neighborhood watch. If a car starts driving around suspiciously, it is often followed, usually by retired guys in golf carts. The police work closely with our neighborhood watch and encouraged it. Which is how neighborhood watch should work.
These aren't vigilantes. They are people protecting their homes, families, and property.
Unlike the scenario you described above, these were two men who armed themselves and went out to confront Arbery without consulting or working with the police. They weren't trying to help law enforcement, they were trying to do their job for them. That's the very definition of a vigilante.