BODYCAM VIDEO RELEASED OF DEADLY POLICE SHOOTING OF US. AIRMAN IN FLORIDA
1A Florida sheriff publicly released bodycam footage from a deputy who fatally shot a Black airman in his home last week – and disputed claims from the victim’s family that the deputy had gone to the wrong apartment.
Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden showed the video during a Thursday news conference, shortly after an attorney for the 23-year-old airman’s family called for its public release, saying the victim’s girlfriend was FaceTiming with him and believes the deputy was at the wrong unit.
The victim was identified by his family as Roger Fortson, an active-duty senior airman, according to attorney Ben Crump, who held a news conference earlier Thursday. Crump and Fortson’s mother described him as a patriot who respected authority and hoped to buy his mother and younger siblings a house.
The sheriff, who met with Fortson’s family shortly before his news conference, said he asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Division to handle the criminal investigation, as is required. While that probe is ongoing, he said, “no determination has been made as to whether the deputy’s actions were justified or not.” The deputy has been placed on administrative leave