Police in the United States have killed an Air Force member of the nation. The incident happened at the deceased’s Florida home. The video that was recorded by the officer’s camera during the incident was made public by the local police department.
Senior Airman Roger Fortson, 23, is the airman who passed away, according to officials. He had bullet wounds and was brought to the hospital. He later died there.
A lawyer representing the dead airman’s family quoted an eyewitness to claim that the police killed the airman by going into the wrong house.
However, the police denied the allegation and said that the policeman fired in self-defense after seeing Fortson with a gun.
The incident occurred at Fortson’s home, five miles from the Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field in Florida, on May 3.
The name of the policeman who opened fire has not been released. After the incident, he was placed on leave.
Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden said Florida police departments and the state attorney’s office have opened an investigation into the incident.
Eric Aden has promised to ensure ‘transparency and accountability’ in the investigation. He said, “This investigation will take time.”
Eric added, ‘I want to assure you, we are not hiding anything or taking any such action, which is unfair to Fortson’s family or that policeman.’
Eric Aden showed video footage of the incident. It shows the policeman concerned went to Airman Fortson’s apartment, knocked on the door and said he was from the sheriff’s office. Later, when the door was opened, Fortson’s right hand was seen to be holding a gun. As soon as he opened the door, the policeman shot him several times and asked him to surrender his weapon. Fortson was shot and fell to the ground.
Fortson’s family’s lawyer, Ben Crump, made a statement in a press conference on Thursday.
source: Al Jazeera
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