Author: Staff

Attorneys for the family of an Air Force airman killed last week by a Florida sheriff’s deputy called Thursday for law enforcement officials to release the bodycam footage surrounding the 23-year-old young man’s death, saying that he had done nothing wrong before being fatally shot.

According to a statement from Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden, the shooting occurred on the afternoon of May 3 when a deputy with the Sheriff’s Office responded to a call of a disturbance in progress at an apartment complex, entered the unit and opened fire. The sheriff said the deputy heard sounds of a disturbance and reacted in self defense after he encountered the 23-year-old.  In its statement, the sheriff’s office said: “our deputy responded to a call of a disturbance in progress where he encountered an armed man. The deputy shot the man, who later succumbed to his injuries.”

The family of 23-year-old Senior Airman Roger Fortson said he was shot while his girlfriend ()who was on a FaceTime call with him throughout the encounter) said that the deputy burst into the wrong unit and fatally shot Fortson when he saw he was armed with a gun. Brian Barr, one of the family’s attorneys, said at a press conference: “He lost his life because they knocked on the wrong door. Mistakes happen. We know that. Humans aren’t perfect. Good people make mistakes. But good people also own their mistakes …You go pick it up and read it. What’s it make you think? It makes you think this happened outside. That this kid was in the middle of a disturbance. And he did something. He instigated this and lost his life. That’s what it makes it sound like. It sounded justified. That’s what they tried to make it sound like. We want to know what happened. We want the mistakes to be owned. We’re not going away until that transparency happens.”

Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who is also representing Fortson’s family, said that they planned to review the body camera video with members of the sheriff’s office later Thursday and that he expected it to be released publicly, adding that the deputy went to the wrong apartment as there was no disturbance at Fortson’s residence and he was alone:  “They took a good guy. They took a patriot from us. Then to put out this narrative that an officer killed a citizen at this apartment complex in self-defense. You put out this narrative demonizing his name as if he did something wrong. Trying to justify an unjustifiable killing. When you make a mistake, you own up to it. You don’t try to justify killing a good guy. Okaloosa sheriff’s office, they need to give him the dignity and respect he so richly deserved.”

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A federal court panel in Philadelphia rejected an appeal by President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, of three gun charges Thursday, clearing the way for him to stand trial in his home state of Delaware beginning June 3- a first for the son of a sitting president. Hunter Biden was appealing orders issued last month, in which he was denied motions to dismiss two counts accusing Biden of lying about using illegal narcotics when he purchased a Colt Cobra handgun in 2018 and a third count of illegally possessing that weapon. Hunter Biden’s legal team had argued that the lower trial court had to wait for the federal appeals court to rule before it could push ahead with a trial.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia said Hunter Biden could not appeal because the lower court had not yet entered a final judgment in the case. In a four-page order (seen here), the panel dismissed Hunter’s bid to consider having the case thrown out, citing a lack of jurisdiction. Judges Patty Shwartz, Cindy Chung and D. Brooks Smith stated in the order: “This appeal is DISMISSED because the defendant has not shown the District Court’s orders are appealable before final judgment.”  

After the appeals court’s ruling, U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, who will preside over the case, ordered the trial of up to six days to begin June 3 in Wilmington, Delaware (per Reuters).

Hunter Biden’s legal team said they will ask the full appeals court in Philadelphia to review the panel’s decision.  A statement from Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell reads that “in reviewing the panel’s decision, we believe the issues involved are too important and further review of our request is appropriate.”

Hunter, 54, has pleaded not guilty to all charges, which include two counts of making false statements and one count of firearm possession by an unlawful substance abuser. He faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison on the gun charges.

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