The family of the killed US airman questions the sheriff’s deputy’s dealings with the law-abiding gun owner

WASHINGTON: The family of Roger Fortson, a 23-year-old active-duty airman who was killed by a Florida sheriff’s deputy, released a statement questioning the offending officer’s ability to deal with law-abiding gun owners, Sputnik reported .

“Was the officer trained to give verbal warnings since the officer did not tell Roger to drop the weapon before he fired? Did the officer attempt to initiate life-saving measures? “Was the officer trained to deal with law-abiding citizens who are registered gun owners?” Fortson’s family said in a statement released by their attorney, Ben Crump.

Fortson, a senior airman in the U.S. Air Force, died May 3 at his home near the air base after an Okaloosa Sheriff’s Department officer shot him after he entered the wrong apartment during a service call.

Police said the deputy responded in self-defense after seeing Fortson armed with a gun, reports said.

Crump, a civil rights attorney representing the family, said in the released statement that Fortson was having a FaceTime conversation with his girlfriend at the time of the encounter. The girlfriend, who has not yet been identified, is scheduled to hold a news conference in the coming days and is expected to release a portion of the footage taken at the time of the shooting, Crump added.

The statement from Fortson’s family came in response to the review of body camera footage released Thursday, although it was heavily redacted.

According to a statement from the Okaloosa Sheriff’s Office, the offending officer has been placed on administrative leave while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the State Attorney’s Office review the shooting. – Bernama, Sputnik