Police investigating the death of a US airman have shown sickening body camera footage of the moment he was killed.
Senior Air Force airman Roger Fortson, 23, was shot dead in his own apartment by police officers in a suspected case of mistaken identity.
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Addressing the media before showing the videoSheriff Eric Aden of the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said his deputies informed Fortson that they were law enforcement officers twice before opening fire.
In the short clip, a hail of gunfire can be heard as a police officer shouts “Drop the gun.”
Fortson, 23, was killed after police broke into the wrong house and shot him.
At the time, he was alone in his home, about five miles from his base in Hurlburt Field, Florida.
“Our deputy responded to a call about a disturbance in progress where he encountered an armed man,” according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office last Friday afternoon.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump previously revealed at the time that the senior airman was on a Facetime call with a woman when police showed up at the home.
The lawyer revealed that Fortson initially heard a knock, but no one responded.
Instead, he heard another much more aggressive knock.
“Concerned, he did what any other law-abiding citizen would do and retrieved his legally owned gun, but as he returned to the living room, police burst through the door. When they saw the gun, they shot Roger six times,” Crump said in the statement.
“The witness said he saw Roger on the ground saying, ‘I can’t breathe,’ after he was shot,” Crump said.
“She also said the police were at the wrong apartment because there was no disturbance at the apartment and he was alone.”
The sheriff’s office has not confirmed whether they were in the wrong home.
However, a statement was released following the news of Fortson’s death.
“All of us at the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office are saddened by the fatal officer-involved shooting over the weekend,” Sheriff Eric Aden said in a statement.
“At this time, we humbly ask for our community’s patience as we work to understand the facts that led to this tragic event,” he said.
Hurlburt Field, the Air Force base where the airman was assigned, also released a statement after the news broke.
“The 1st Special Operations Wing’s priorities are to provide casualty services to families, support the squadron during this tragic time, and ensure resources are available to all affected,” the base said.
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