Bodycam Footage of Florida Deputy Shooting Air Force Airman Released

I watched it fairly objectively I think. Why did the airman think opening the door with a gun in his hand was necessary but the cop had to have his gun drawn to have fired that fast. This may be a situation where guns kill people.

 

Guy was at home minding his own business and was killed by a cop knocking on the wrong door. That's unacceptable. Heads need to roll.

 

I honestly usually side with the public over the police but this one isn’t black or white. Why would he open his door with a gun in his hand when a deputy is at the door.

 

The local police (while mum on the other details) are saying it was the "right" door.

It doesn't matter if it was the wrong door. Your life should not be forfeit because some busybody neighbor walks by your door and calls the police to report a disturbance.

This guy was a loadmaster in the aircrew of an AC-130. It's a thankless and difficult job that requires intense training on the graveyard shift and unpredictable deployments.

Horrible loss. All of AFSOC is in shock right now, particularly at Hurlburt.

 

Indeed. The article doesn't give a lot of specifics. Looks like its daytime from the footage. Seems a little paranoid to answer your door with a weapon during daylight hours. Also is this how cops respond to any "disturbance" - with guns drawn? Disturbance is very vague.

 

I think I can answer this. One of his duties as a loadmaster is to remain armed and secure the aircraft.

If someone accidentally walks onto the flightline at Hurlburt or Cannon (where the 4 SOS trains), the base cops will hold them facedown at gunpoint to secure the area (They rarely get to, but they drill a lot). The loadmaster participates in these drills to secure the aircraft with a sidearm.

He was probably doing what he was trained to do in assisting the cops. Unfortunately not the cops he was used to working with.

 

Was it illegal for him to do that? Was he pointing it at anyone? Did he attempt to raise the weapon into firing position? Did he disregard an order to drop it? Was there any evidence of a disturbance at the residence when the LEO arrived? Is there anything to prevent a bad guy from yelling "sheriff's office" to gain entry into a residence?

I watched a murder.

 

Not ilegal. Just a puzzling decision that cost him his life. If you are so concerned about what’s on that other side, don’t open the door. At the very least look through the peep hole and ask some questions. I can’t think of any scenario where answering the door holding a gun is a good thing.

To be clear, I’m not saying the PO isn’t responsible here. He clearly had his gun drawn which is just as puzzling.

 

I have not seen anything that claims it was the wrong door. So if there was a really bad domestic dispute, and one of the parties is holding a gun, it feels like a really bad situation already.

 

Again the article isnt detailed, but it appears the cops were called because a neighbor heard him on his facetime/zoom call with his girlfriend? That was the disturbance? If that's the case, another case for people not calling the cops for any old "disturbance." I feel like a lot of bad things could be avoided if people minded their own business or didnt assume the worse if they hear a loud argument your neighbor is having with their partner.

 

He was alone in the apartment facetiming with his GF.

 

The cop was told by neighbors that his gf was in the apartment and that it was an escalating situation. I am not saying the cop should have had his weapon drawn but this is not a black and white case. I usually think the cops are 100 percent in the wrong but not this time.

 

For some reason I thought I saw someone else in the video background. If he was alone, it makes this even more tragic.

 

Apparently this was a regular occurrence. That’s what was mentioned in the video. Minding your own business sounds good until your abusive neighbor ends up killing his girlfriend/kid, or someone in your family. Obviously not the case here but I’m not going fault a neighbor for reporting a pattern of potential abuse.

 

He and anyone that legally owns a gun has the right to answer their door with it in their hand without a police officer shooting them. He didn't raise the gun or point it at the officer and was not told to drop the gun until after he was shot. This was a big time screw up from the police officer and a lack of proper training apparently. I am far from anti cop but I didn't like the looks of what happened here at all and have no problem with him answering his door the way he did holding his firearm.

 

In a well functioning society, that might be the right thing to do. We'd have people trained to deescalate domestic situations that would arrive on the scene instead of the dumbest guy you went to high school with fully armed. Unfortunately, anytime you call the cops on someone you have to factor in the good possibility that the situation will escalate to immediate violence as the cops arrive (whether its a murder/suicide, or an accidental shooting, etc), the hammer who only see nails. So the "good neighbor" is likely to have blood on their hands whatever choice they make. Its a tough position to be in. Guns make everything worse. In my view, the best choice is usually to stay out of it unless you hear screaming or beating, etc.

 

I want to know if it’s standard operating procedure to have your gun drawn when knocking on a door for a potential domestic violence situation. Because if it is, I agree with you and I wouldn’t call one in. But unless the neighbor made the whole thing up, there’s no blood on their hands. She didn’t answer the door holding a gun, and she didn’t shoot anybody.

 

They used their training properly, they are trained to shoot people (and pets) they feel threatened by, and that any hesitation will result in you being dead. Not only that, they know that in almost any case, they wont face any serious consequences.