May 9
According to the BBC , Senior Airman Roger Fortson was shot by the police at his Florida home.
Police said the deputy reacted in self-defence after he saw Fortson armed with a gun.
Citing a witness who was on a video call with Mr Fortson, the lawyer alleges that police burst into the wrong home.
According to the witness, Mr Fortson heard a knock on his apartment door and asked who was there, but received no response. He then heard a second, "very aggressive knock" but did not see anyone when he looked through the peephole. It is at this point that Fortson is said to have grown concerned and retrieved his gun, which was legally owned. As Fortson returned to his living room, police burst through the door, saw that the resident was armed and shot him six times.
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My comments, since I got nothing better to do.
If what the witness says is true, this is not just a horrible mistake leading to a tragic outcome, the police is criminally responsible for it and the investigation should find the deputy guilty of at least manslaughter.
However, I have my doubts this is all there is to this. Obviously this was a police operation involving several officers, not just one deputy responding to a nuisance in the neighborhood. They might have been at the wrong address, but that makes no difference. When the police knocks at a door, they absolutely must identify themselves as such, regardless if this is about arresting a violent felon, or a false burlglary alarm. The fact that they didn't, particularly when Mr Fortson asked who was there, is a flagrant violation of a well established procedure. I have a hard time believing that ALL officers made this error and none of them gave an answer.
Then, why would they knock again? What did they expect? That a more aggressive knock would scare the expected criminal inside and make him peacefully open the door? That Mr Fortson was armed when they burst into the house, and even if he was pointing the gun at the police, was to be expected, since he had no way of knowing who is bursting through the door of his own house. In this case, the deputy would not be acting in self defense, but as an aggressor.
This makes absolutely no sense. If this is indeed true, this was not an error, this was an assassination and the officers involved should all get the electric chair.
But we'll see what the investigation unveils...
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May 12 update
New information available. First, it wasn't a house, as I had assumed, it was an apartment. Second, it was only one sheriff's deputy, it was not an operation. Third, a bodycam video was released. The deputy responded alone to a disturbance. Based on the video, I say this was a tragic accident. The responsibility lies 90% with the victim, 10% with the officer. The officer clearly identified himself, twice, in a loud voice. It's quite possible that the victim could not see the officer in the peephole, but he opened (the officer did not burst it) the door casually, he did not seem afraid or unsure of who it was on the other side. When he opened the door, it could clearly be seen that he was carrying a handgun. This mistake cost him his life. The gun was indeed pointed down and was never raised or aimed at the officer. The officer did indeed overreact, but his shooting was in the end justified. It could be seen as a self-defence action since he was facing an armed man. A terrible tragedy! 😥
May 28 update
An expert analysis of an extended video. More details reveal that the tragedy is much greater than I originally thought. The apartment is bright and super clean, the victim has a small, cute puppy, a vacuum cleaner being charged in the hallway, everything points to him being a young man leading an exemplary life, with a brilliant future. An unspeakable tragedy 😥.
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