US airman shot and killed by police in Florida

Florida police have publicly released body camera footage from a deputy sheriff who fatally shot a US Air Force member at his home, reports BBC.

Senior Airman Roger Fortson, who was 23 years old, was taken to a hospital where he died, officials said.

A lawyer for the victim's family, citing a witness, alleged the police burst into the wrong home.

Police have disputed the claim and said the deputy reacted in self-defence after he saw Fortson armed with a gun.

The airman was shot on 3 May at his home, located 5 miles (8km) from the Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida, where he is based.

The deputy who shot him - whom police have not named - has since been placed on administrative leave.

Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden said the shooting was being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the State Attorney's Office.

Mr Aden promised to provide "transparency and accountability" but added: "These investigations take time."

"But I want to assure you that we are not hiding, covering up, or taking any action that would result in a rushed judgment of Mr Fortson or our deputy."

The sheriff showed a four-minute video taken from the body camera worn by the deputy who fired the fatal shots.

The clip showed police arriving at Fortson's apartment complex, and being led to an elevator by a witness who said she had heard fighting coming from an apartment.

The deputy then approached the front door alone, knocked, and twice called out that he was a member of the "sheriff's office".

Fortson was seen holding a gun in his right hand as he opened the door. The deputy then fired multiple shots as soon as the door opened, telling him afterwards to drop the weapon.

"It's over there. I don't have it," Fortson said as he lay on the floor.

A lawyer for the Fortson family, Ben Crump, said in a news conference on Thursday that Fortson "was the best America had to offer".

"He was a patriot. He was a US airman, special ops. He was fighting for our way of life. He was fighting for everybody," Mr Crump said.

His mother, Chantimekki Fortson, broke down crying as Mr Crump recounted the moments before the airman was shot.

"My baby was my everything," she said.

Mr Crump said at the time of the shooting Fortson was on a video call with a friend, who described what she heard to his family's legal team.

The friend said the airman heard a knock on his apartment door and asked who was there, but received no response. He then heard a second, "very aggressive knock" but did not see anyone when he looked through the peephole.