Under mounting pressure to provide justification for last week's fatal police shooting of a senior U.S. Air Force airman in his own apartment, a Florida sheriff released body camera footage of the fatal encounter on Thursday.
The footage shows Senior Airman Roger Fortson, 23, opening the door to his apartment in the Florida Panhandle and being immediately shot by an Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office deputy. The video also shows Pilot Fortson holding a gun, and authorities have maintained the deputy “responded in self-defense.”
The release of the footage came amid growing questions from the airman's family and their attorneys — including Ben Crump, who has represented George Floyd's family — who had accused the deputy of entering the wrong apartment and not ringing the doorbell or to register themselves and be invaded. through the door.
Some of those allegations appeared to be undermined by the body camera video. The lawyers said they were based on information from Airman Fortson's girlfriend, who had a video call with him during the episode. They did not dispute that Airman Fortson was armed, but said he had every right to be in his own home as a legal gun owner.
Asked whether he believed the outcome would have been different if Airman Fortson had not been black, Mr. Crump said: “That is something America has to answer.”
The footage released Thursday shows the deputy, who has not been identified, was told by a woman at the Fort Walton Beach apartment complex in the Florida Panhandle to go to apartment No. 1401 due to an apparent domestic dispute . over there.
It is unclear who the woman is, why the deputy was called in the first place and whether the apartment number has been correctly identified.
When the deputy arrives at apartment 1401, the images show, he first knocks without identifying himself. He then knocks again, says, “Sheriff's office, open the door,” and steps away from the door.
A few seconds later, the deputy moves to the other side of the door, knocks and announces himself again, the images show.
Airman Fortson then opens the door and holds a gun in his right hand that appears to be pointed downwards. The deputy says, “Stand back,” and then fires several times at the airman, who, according to the footage, raises his left hand in front of his chest.
After Airman Fortson falls back, the deputy shouts, “Drop the gun!”
“I don't have it,” answers Airman Fortson.
The deputy calls for emergency medical services and tells Airman Fortson, “Don't move.”
Mr. Crump said Thursday that Airman Fortson had been shot six times and that he was alone in his apartment.
Sheriff Eric Aden said at a news conference Thursday that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement would handle the criminal investigation into the shooting. The Public Prosecution Service will also assess the episode. The sheriff did not answer questions Thursday.
Mr. Crump was released separately film material On Thursday, he said Airman Fortson's girlfriend recorded him on FaceTime with him that day. The footage begins shortly after Airman Fortson was shot down. He is heard heaving and saying, “I can't breathe.”
A man in the video appears to tell arriving medics that Airman Fortson was holding a gun when the door was opened.
Hours before the release of the body camera footage, Mr. Crump held a press conference with Airman Fortson's family members, including his mother, Chantemekki Fortson.
Mrs. Fortson said her son was known as Mr. Make It Happen, that he loved his younger siblings and that he joined the military to help his family get ahead.
“My kid bought me an Infiniti, a brand new car,” she said at the news conference, where she held a framed photo of Airman Fortson in his military uniform. “He tried to give me everything I could never get for myself.”
Mr. Crump said his message to the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office was that “if you make a mistake, it's your fault.”
“You're not trying to justify killing a good guy,” he said.
Mr. Crump's office did not immediately respond to questions about the release of the body camera footage.
Alexis Piquero, a professor of criminology at the University of Miami, said the body camera footage in this case was just “one big piece of a puzzle.” Other factors, such as the initial 911 call and interviews with the woman who led the deputy to Airman Fortson's apartment, could provide a fuller picture of what may have gone wrong.