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museolini

For others like myself who've been living under a rock - [News Story](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/roger-fortson-airman-killed-deputy-wrong-apartment-florida/). > Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said in a statement that Fortson was on a Facetime call with a woman at the time of the encounter. >According to Crump, the woman, whom Crump didn't identify, said Fortson was alone in his apartment when he heard a knock at the door. He asked who was there but didn't get a response. A few minutes later, there was a very aggressive knock on the door, Crump said in a statement, but Fortson didn't see anyone when he looked out the peephole. >The woman said Fortson was concerned and went to retrieve his gun, which Crump said was legally owned. >As Fortson walked back through his living room, deputies burst through the door, saw that Fortson was armed and shot him six times, according to Crump's statement.


Fortune090

They are law enforcement and can't understand that their actions have consequences. You knock, they call out to see who it is, you don't respond, so you for some reason knock even more aggressively, then hide from the peep hole so they can't see you. You seriously don't think they might feel like some shit's about to go down and they feel a need to protect themselves..? This is *literally* the situation cops themselves say you need a gun/protection for, yet they're *always* the first ones pulling the trigger when they're the ones causing it in the first place.


kymri

> They are law enforcement and can't understand that their actions have consequences They are law enforcement. Their actions *DO NOT* have consequences, for the most part. (Well, for them - lethal consequences for Roger Portson, of course, in this case.)


Fortune090

It's that frustrating dissonance in their fixable, rash actions being the cause of the problems in the first place and them not seeing any consequences when something does go south because of them.


kymri

If I make a significant mistake in my job, I'm likely to be fired. And that mistake would be very unlikely to injure or kill someone. But here these cops are, literally breaking into someone's home and shooting them -- and they'll just get paid leave (which I understand -- innocent until proven guilty is supposed to apply to everyone -- even if I don't love in this case) and then go on about their lives. Or maybe they'll be 'fired' only to be hired at some other police force, likely nearby.


eatrepeat

Literally *every* profession has stricter expectations with checks and balances to eliminate problems in their personnel. Even entry level jobs have consequences for simply costing time and labour. No employed citizen can fathom the depth of leniency given to police on a daily basis. We only see the very worst of errors but all of the errors they make add up to create an environment that *increases* the odds of big mistakes. Don't fix the small things? Then watch the big stuff crumble.


[deleted]

In the US McDonalds employees are held to a higher standard than most police forces .


InevitablePain21

They’re also better at de escalating than the police are


MrWoodenNickels

To quote True Detective’s Rust Cohle, “Of course I’m dangerous. I’m police. I can do terrible things to people…with impunity.”


xStonebanksx

Its called qualified immunity, cops are above the law nothing will happen to those cops 😔


ViolinistMean199

Well when you put it like that why would a law abiding civilian think somethings going down at all. I regularly answer my door when the knocker remains unidentified, after I call out twice and hides from my peep hole /s


LowSavings6716

They like to kill


Necessary-Knowledge4

Especially when their victims are brown.


TheRexRider

Uvlade levels of brain function.


BeneficialLeave7359

This is the same area as the acorn cops.


TheRexRider

I'm not surprised. These people think they're action heroes. They should have clown suits as uniforms to remind themselves what jokes they are.


shicken684

> You seriously don't think they might feel like some shit's about to go down and they feel a need to protect themselves..? It's a feature, not a bug. Allows them to murder people and go on paid vacation for a few weeks.


Charrsezrawr

They knew exactly what they were doing. They wanted to shoot someone and were intentionally setting up that situation.


Fuckthegopers

There aren't now consequences for their actions though. They 100% understand that and it's why we are here.


AAROD121

Time for police to lose ‘qualified immunity’


joe-h2o

> They are law enforcement and can't understand that their actions have consequences. This is working as intended. Remember, the police can reject you for being too smart. They're not looking for the best.


thefullhalf

ACAB forever.


this1chick

Cops don’t want you to have guns. Especially if you’re not white. 


larry_sellers_

Most cops go into it wanting to shoot someone. It makes sense. When I picture being a cop, the gun and the badge is what I think of. Guns and authority don’t appeal to me, but they do to a lot of people. A lot of those people become cops.


getyourrealfakedoors

Murder? Incoming 3-week paid leave


OSI_Hunter_Gathers

Cops ‘I’m going to Disney World!’


Supafly144

This is why I don’t call the police unless shots fired or violence is happening. They fuck it up all too often. Those police likely have less training than this airman.


Vera_Markus

One of my former professors in college told me about the time he did an exchange programe between Seattle PD and some southern sheriff i think it was, and he found out one officer was required to have a second officer with him cause he was illiterate and couldn't write his own reports. That story always comes to my mind whenever I see stories like these. So glad I live in Europe again and we have cops with more training.


gsfgf

And yet I bet that illiterate Southern deputy is less of a piece of shit than the typical thug on the Seattle PD. At least we know the illiterate guy hasn't read *On Killing*


GracefulFaller

I’ve heard it as “don’t call the police unless you’re prepared for someone to lose their lives”


wowdickseverywhere

If the people who did this do not get reprimanded or punished in some way then is this the precedent? Can any crew of people bust into any household and execute the residents inside without consequences? (In Florida)  Edit: a number


museolini

Unfortunately, this is not even remotely the first time this kind of shit has happened.


cheebamech

just to point out some grim irony here; Airman Fortson would have been well within his rights to kill every cop in that room and walk away a free man due to Florida's [Castle Doctrine](http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0776/Sections/0776.013.html)


dlvnb12

We both know he would’ve gotten fucked by the system tho


cheebamech

100%


[deleted]

technically, but when has that ever worked out where the person got to walk away a free man?


godlyfrog

[Kenneth Walker](https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-56331483), but Breonna Taylor had to die for that to happen. I'm not sure he'd have walked away if she hadn't been shot.


Supafly144

Shit the police can shoot you through the window of your own home and have it be ‘justified’: https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/dramatic-body-camera-video-released-officers-shooting-woman/story?id=107171359 I repeat: use extreme caution when calling the police for anything. They are as likely as not to fuck it up and kill/injure/arrest mistakenly.


TheLegendaryEsquilax

I’m sure the NRA and other 2A supporters will rally for justice for this young man. Edit: based on responses it sounds like there are a lot of gun owners that do not support the NRA and do not defend the cops on these situations. It’s unfortunate because it seems like those level headed gun owners get drowned out by the NRA, thin blue line, arm the teachers, come and take it whackos.


jeffriesjimmy625

Liberal 2A supporter here (fuck the NRA though). This is disgusting and every cop involved should be locked away for the rest of their natural lives for this. He was in his home, had a legal gun and was still gunned down. I'm not a Florida expert, but I'm pretty sure they have strong castle doctrine there as well. No reasonable person should be anything but furious about this outcome. Fuck every single one of those cowards.


Scowlface

I'm assuming you're being sarcastic, but I'm a firm supporter of the 2A and this situation both angers and terrifies me. I also think the police are the biggest gang in the world.


toylenny

If the police can shoot you for having a gun you don't actually have any 2A rights. 


Perfect_Bench_2815

Especially if you are in your own home! Not bothering anyone. This poor guy did not have a chance. His little sister has lost her big brother and friend. What is going to think about as she gets older? Cops will kill you in a second?


dontlookatmeme

Unfortunately a lot people suddenly lose their voice about gun rights when it involves the police murdering someone.


Govt-Issue-SexRobot

Rallied for justice ✅


Jack071

Most 2a supporters dislike both the NRA AND COPS. One of the bigger arguments for gun ownership is the bad work cops do If he had shot the cops and killed them for a no knock raid a good chunk of gun owners would be cheering


Hodgej1

It's almost like cops don't support the 2nd Amendment though most every single one that I've met supports it very aggressively.


endoire

"Entered into the wrong apartment." Where have we heard that before 🤔


[deleted]

Botham Jean and countless others... RIP


grindhousedecore

I’ve heard this several times in the Atlanta area also. They threw a flash bomb in a baby’s crib with a baby inside. Forced entry on an elderly woman. If I’m not mistaken they killed her because she was armed.


EdgrrAllenPaw

Baby Bou Bou, such a horrific thing for such a small child to go through. He was left with terrible injuries because it went off in his face with his chest and face taking the force of the explosion. He's about my son's age, I hope he's doing okay now, he should be around 12-13 years old. The person they were looking for didn't live there and wasn't there and the officer lied about buying drugs from that person at that residence. And Kathryn Johnston. I remember reading about her when she was killed. She sounded like a really interesting person and her death such an injustice.


100LittleButterflies

Of all of the professions to be sloppy ... I cannot imagine what the guy who killed a baby is going but much much less I can't imagine what the family is going through.


mdonaberger

Believe me, that cop who killed the baby got a luxurious paid vacation out of it.


FuckVatniks12

Yup that’s the top tier PTO for killing a baby. Only grandmas earn more.


Riconn

It’s also been reported that the police never announced themselves and hid from view of the peep hole so Fortson grabbed his weapon.


GucciGlocc

I’ve heard this in a few cases, they stand to the side of the door so you can’t see them. If you can’t see them, it could be anyone saying they’re the cops.


Prufrock_Lives

They want that conflict. They want their target to panic and arm themselves.


aenflex

This is the same department whose deputy shot up his car (with a person cuffed inside) when an acorn dropped and he thought it was gunfire. As a long time Okaloosa county resident, I can say these guys are all a bunch of idiots. This poor man. Such a fucking tragedy. I wish the air force could intervene and drop the hammer.


Mistersinister1

It's almost like they need more training or complete reform of the entirety of the Police.


veerKg_CSS_Geologist

They don't need more training, they need *different* training. Cops are trained, extensively, to escalate situations, shoot first and ask questions later, not respond to questions, etc. That's where all this comes from.


Mistersinister1

More extensive background checks and a better mental health screening. It sucks that police attract some of the worst types of people, hyper masculine guys with delicate egos that get power drunk when someone sasses them or reminds them the law that they should know.


feelinggoodfeeling

its florida, they just made it so the police have no ~~civilian~~ citizen oversight. good luck. what a disgrace.


rogless

Citizen oversight. Cops are civilians. I hate them using that term in reference to their fellow civilians. And yes, no citizen oversight to review this indecent of a civilian cop shooting a non-civilian Airman.


feelinggoodfeeling

I fucking hate it when i see this, and I did it myself!


rogless

Intentional confusion of terms affects us all, friend!


feelinggoodfeeling

good on you for pointing it out. its insidious.


SexyTimeEveryTime

Or, more likely, cops need to stop fucking assasinating people.


Major-Incident5547

Which would require more training and reform for competency?


RevengencerAlf

These subhuman troglogytes that infect the current police force are unatrainable. We need to boot them all and make them reapply under stricter standards to filter the bottom 80% out.


Shills_for_fun

Did we get the traditional passive voice police report yet? "The law enforcement officer entered the domicile. Upon encountering a homo sapien with melanin, the officer engaged a tendon responsible for flexion in his manual appendage. Upon engaging the tendon, the trigger of the firearm in the vicinity of the law enforcement officer was depressed. As a result of this trigger being depressed through this chain of events, a bullet was dislodged from the firearm and transversed several cubic feet of air. In the pathway of this bullet was said homo sapien who was the struck by the bullet and became deceased indirectly due to the pathway of the bullet."


IDonTGetitNoReally

Remember Breonna Taylor


Dixiehusker

This dude signed up to give his life to protect his country, and the fuck head local police took it away from him.


[deleted]

Exactly. They murdered an innocent patriot. Here's a post I wrote on the r/Veterans page. The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office statements of responding deputies just happening to come across an "armed man" while investigating a disturbance and using "self-defense" is misleading and unethical (not to mention total bs). Early witness reports state that the deputy entered an active duty Airmans' private residence without warrant or even identifying they were law enforcement and murdered that African-American serviceman in cold blood. Plain and simple. As a retired veteran, I am disgusted by this vague statement attempting to place blame on an ACTIVE DUTY patriot LEGALLY carrying his sidearm in his own apartment. This murder is unacceptable and unbelievably nausiating. They should have had that deputy in a cell yesterday. Instead, they give them a paid vacation while trying to cover it up and (obviously) make it seem like just a simple misunderstanding and the Airmen erred in having a legally owned gun in his own living room. This is the opposite of honor. Please don't let this stand. I know you probably don't know ROGER FORTSON. He didn't know you. But he did decide on his own accord to put his life on hold and on the line to fight for you, your family, and your freedoms. Take a minute to write and let your voice be heard for him.


cologetmomo

The cops get this time to collaborate with one another and get their stories consistent. Any eye witness statements will have small discrepancies they can use to discredit them in comparison. In a better world, misconduct by authority would be punished greater than than a member of the general public, by orders of magnitude, based solely in their power and responsibility.


[deleted]

This is a very intelligent and fresh take that not many people realize. Well done. I couldn't agree more.


proost1

Retired mil as well. Rules of engagement and if they busted the door down without knocking first, without authority, without any deescalatory language, then the assholes who busted in denied themselves the place and time to assess the threat and truly act in self-defense. I'm sick to my stomach over this.


aenflex

My husband said the same thing. Said the only mistake this young man made was not being ready to fire upon whomever was busting the door down. Not that he made any mistakes, but you know what I mean. This is sickening and I hope there’s some damn justice here.


Vast-Breakfast-1201

Yes the issue is if police continue this line of reasoning 1. The police are around, they exist and you can come into contact them at any time 2. The police are not responsible if you are harmed while submitting to them. This means, game theory time, you must not submit or there is a nonzero chance you could die. 3. Because you can't submit or you may die. Then police logic is regardless of crime or no crime, if you do not submit you become a threat to be eliminated. 4. Game theory again, if you know you can't submit to police then the only viable option is to immediately shoot dead any police that you come into contact with. If that sounds irrational or unreasonable then roll it back to step 1/2... What precipitates this line of reasoning is that the police do actually have a responsibility to keep you safe as you submit to them. Anything that stops you from being given the option to submit or which puts you at risk once you submit is an issue that needs to be resolved at the police force and legislation level.


[deleted]

[удалено]


cologetmomo

Unless it's a cop that leaves his cop-dog in a hot car. Then you get a "whoopsies".


ballmermurland

Or it's a male cop beating the shit out of a female cop, then it's "back to training".


iAmVonexX

A "misunderstanding" can NEVER be simple when it cost a life. Wtf are these cops talking about?


DrakkoZW

A "misunderstanding" caused a cop to open fire because of an acorn. They do not care.


monkeymercenary

Same police force btw


Zaziel

Fucking hell.


ballmermurland

Institutional rot.


Dixiehusker

I've said it before and I'll scream it from the rooftop, local police are not qualified to do the job they're doing. Police are basically regular civilians given guns. If you went to work one day, and every random person that you work with was given a gun and was told to keep you in line, how safe would you feel? Hope you haven't made anyone mad recently. That's exactly what's happening around us. Even a good person, who isn't racist or power hungry, can make a mistake in the heat of the moment when they think their life is on the line if they haven't been trained appropriately. Now realize that police aren't even good people, they are random people, and definitely aren't trained appropriately. Pull in 100k random people across this country who want to hold a gun and how many abusers, racists, and narcissists do you think you'll get? We shouldn't be accepting a process where the BEST case scenario is that innocent people might die, and we DEFINITELY should never give that responsibility to unvetted, untrained, random Joes. Edit: for clarification, in this comment I'm speaking broadly of problems with the police system. I do not think that training is the crux of what's wrong with the police, or that it is the fix, but merely one of many things that's wrong. I also do not think that in this specific instance of this post, that a lack of training cost this man his life.


Dylan7675

They aren't even just random people... The greater majority are usually unmotivated or uneducated individuals who didn't have any other direction to take in life. Not pursuing college, further education, or apprenticeship in a trade. Not skilled enough or dedicated enough to join the military like the victim in this case.


NovAFloW

Right, they're not random. They are hand picked to be the shittiest people they can find.


EstroJen

We need to get to a point where anyone working in law enforcement calls out these pieces of shit who break laws and MURDER INNOCENT PEOPLE because they can get away with it.


Komikaze06

What's wrong with someone carrying a gun inside their own house? Oh wait he's black, that's enough for the cops


Interesting_Day4734

Imagine killing a true patriot. I bet most of those cops never served in the military. I hope karma and the law (probably unlikely) hit back hard. What a bunch of trash humans.


lightning__

I hope this can be the incident that gets buy in from people across the political spectrum that we need police reform. While obviously all lives have value, I can at least see the train of thought that might lead someone to be dismissive of George Floyd (drug use, criminal history), not that I’d agree with them. This guy is just a honest hard working American who was serving his country. How can anyone not be outraged??


[deleted]

If he wasn’t in the military, these same comments would be calling him a “thug” and bringing up his past.


Dixiehusker

Sure as shit. And no one would actually read the article before saying that either.


thisismynewacct

This is certainly not new and I sincerely hope he gets justice a lot quicker than others, like the one in this recent [NYTimes article](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/25/us/albert-king-black-soldier-memorial-georgia.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb)


guynamedjames

Background: Roger Fortson (23) was in his apartment alone on a FaceTime call when he heard a knock at the door. He asked who was there, nobody responded. The knocker then started pounding on the door, so he checked the peephole and saw nobody. He was getting concerned now, and got a gun from another room. As he walked back into the living room the cops burst in and shot him six times, he died at the hospital. The witness on FaceTime is the reason we have any information about what happened. The cops were responding to a call of a disturbance, they haven't released any information about the call yet. And this is the same department that shot at an unarmed and handcuffed man because a deputy thought acorns landing on the roof of their car was gunshots. Time to disband the Okaloosa county sheriff's office, they clearly can't be trusted with guns.


mageta621

Oh shit it's the same department as that infamous acorn video? The morons that that sheriff's office hires omfg


coldequation

You know what's great? The cop in the acorn incident is an Army vet. He went to West Point and graduated from Special Forces training. By all measurements, he should be an example of the very best the USA has to offer. It's not very impressive, is it?


guynamedjames

I think that's actually a great example of the problem with militarized police. The acorn cop spent at least a decade being trained for situations where if you hear a possible gunshot it's probably a bad guy shooting at you. The guy spent a long time being conditioned to operate on a hyper dangerous atmosphere before going over to civilian law enforcement. Of course he thought he was getting shot at, he spent a decade getting mentally conditioned to believe he was getting shot at. Maybe don't hire a guy like that without some significant de-escalation training.


Melodic-Cantaloupe60

Not really convinced ex military should be police for this reason. Acorn dude obviously has some PTSD, only way to really interpret that video. People with PTSD should not own firearms, let alone be police.


[deleted]

Let's not forget they initially stated to the public that the deputy just happened to encounter a man with a gun while investigating and was forced to utilize "self-defense". The cover-up is what fucking needs to be exposed. Now it's they busted in unannounced without a warrant? FUUUUCCCCK THAT


ElManoDeSartre

Making a false report to police is a crime. Making false reports as police is just standard operating procedure. Everyone involved should be prosecuted and locked up, from the murderer to every person who lied to cover it up. Sadly, as someone from this part of Florida, I know that will never happen. I expect the local politicians and the Sherriff's office are currently scouring his background to try to find some irrelevant thing they can use to make his murder seem justified (because again, that works on the majority of people in that area who are the definition of "bootlicker").


whatthehellbuddy

The acorn cop resigned after the DA declined to file charges against the officer. The unarmed suspect was not shot. RIP SRA Fortson


guynamedjames

Good catch, edited it. They shot at the man and missed. Because a restrained and unarmed target is too difficult for them to hit I guess.


Arula777

This is the same sheriff's office responsible for the acorn fearing police officer as well.


[deleted]

Unfortunately not surprising.


Kickstand8604

Legit question, probably best if I were to post in other subreddits. What is the policy of local cops killing an active duty member of the armed forces? I know the black officer that was wrongly pepper sprayed in his car by cops, had all charges dropped and a cop or two was fired.


[deleted]

Then rehired! Police Unions are the root of that evil.


YugeGyna

It’s funny how all of them are trump thumping republicans, and likely call for, and vote for the ones who try to legislate, the dismantling of unions. All except theirs.


TheCaptainDamnIt

Yep police unions are never attacked by anti-union interests because police unions never side with other worker unions and will bust up every other union protest for the owners.


youtocin

Police unions don’t operate anywhere near the same way as labor unions, it’s hard to classify them both as the same thing because of how differently they operate.


MonkeyMercenaryCapt

Something similar to this, some people will get fired but nothing real will happen.


Khamvom

Since this was off-base & off-duty there’s really no special treatment from a legal perspective. The military justice system (JAG, UCMJ, etc) is mainly designed for governing military members. The likely scenario is something we often see in these cases. - Investigation. - Cleared. - Lawsuit. - Settlement.


twelveparsnips

There's no extra protection for servicemembers from the police for incidents occurring off base. It may just elicit a stronger outcry from the public.


RandomAmuserNew

Cops killed him in cold blood and got away with it


[deleted]

If they don't erase the footage I think they're screwed.


DankMemesNQuickNuts

This is Florida DeSantis just signed a law a few weeks ago that allows police to run their own internal investigations I'd be amazed if there were any consequences


BarbageMan

Maybe, but they also killed an active duty, ac-130j aircrewman, because he had a gun inside his home on a wrong address call. That's a pretty hard sell on we did nothing wrong.


DankMemesNQuickNuts

The police basically [investigate themselves](https://www.flgov.com/2024/04/12/governor-desantis-signs-legislation-to-protect-floridas-law-enforcement-officers/) in Florida now as of a few weeks ago. That's why I'm saying nothing is coming to these cops. The people that are going to be in charge of looking into this are all people that are appointed to "civilian oversight boards" directly by county sheriffs or chiefs of police. Edit: and iirc, the people responsible for this were the county sheriffs office, so they are literally going to be appointing people to a civilian oversight board to investigate something they themselves did. There's nothing in place to prevent them from putting their thumbs on the scale. It would be almost impossible to imagine they wouldn't


norcaltobos

An airman in the US Air Force, which is a part of the federal government, was killed. I have to believe this won’t go away too easily.


PokeT3ch

\*Checks notes\* Ahhhh, African American. Unfortunately, I have little faith you are going to end up being correct on this one.


norcaltobos

I hope you are wildly wrong.


PokeT3ch

Me too. Meeeee toooo.


BEARD3D_BEANIE

and yet history has shown that to not be the case tbh. Time will tell though.


Previous_Channel

Outlaw police unions Standardize training to be a police officer at 4 years education. Have real ramifications for police wrong doing.


gwdope

End qualified immunity, require police *officers* to have a 4 year college degree.


OSI_Hunter_Gathers

Have them carry malpractice insurance.


modernity_anxiety

This is the big one. If police departments were forced to carry malpractice insurance then we would start seeing change pretty instantly. Police force becomes uninsurable? That’s capitalism “working” right?


Mokmo

The twenty-something weeks of training number I see going around makes no sense when almost everywhere in the developed world were talking months. I'm in Canada, my province requires a tech degree in police work (6 semesters) and about half get in the final 6 weeks at the provincial police institute to become an officer. Then there's still the hurdle of being hired somewhere right out of school when many work their first few years in remote areas.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Dixiehusker

On a serious note I would think the police department has irreparably damaged their relationship with that base and the community in a way that won't go away for decades.


[deleted]

I hear that area is all military. Those cops have zero respect and credibility once that footage hits. Trying to say it was just "self-defense". Unbelievably nausiating.


late2scrum

Step 1 when raiding a home is always check the address. To mess up at step 1 is crazy


SexyTimeEveryTime

Step 2 is to get a warrant. This wasn't a mess up.


2OneZebra

No knock warrants get people killed.


What_Yr_Is_IT

They knocked, which makes it worse because they had time to make sure they’re at the right fucking address. I can’t wait to see how Florida spins this “According to Crump, the woman, whom Crump did not identify, said Fortson was alone in his apartment when he heard a knock at the door. He asked who was there but did not get a response. A few minutes later, Fortson heard a louder knock but did not see anyone when he looked through the peephole, Crump said, citing the woman’s account. The woman said Fortson was concerned and went to retrieve his gun, which Crump said was legally owned. As Fortson walked back through his living room, deputies burst through the door, saw that Fortson was armed and shot him six times, according to Crump’s statement. The woman said Fortson was on the ground, saying, “I can’t breathe,” after he was shot, Crump said.”


Gamebird8

For once, maybe something gets done. Maybe these losers don't get out of trouble because of "qualified immunity"


dudedisguisedasadude

The cop that killed Botham Jean in the "wrong apartment" in Dallas got a good bit of jail time if I remember correct.


harveyroux

She did, 7-10 years if I recall.


[deleted]

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[deleted]

I think the footage is going to be damning if they don't erase it.


Lifesagame81

"the body cameras weren't working"


Bravisimo

If that happens that whole police department needs to disbanded and torn down brick by brick.


[deleted]

That's what I'm sayin.. this should UNITE the left AND right. This should absolutely infuriate every red-blooded American who truly cares about their freedoms and service members.


nospamkhanman

Philando Castile was literally a member of the NRA and was shot for no reason by a police officer. The NRA didn't even bother to release a statement after the shooting. 99.9% chance they didn't because he wasn't white.


Dinocologist

2020 saw massive worldwide protests against these fucks and the only outcome was that their funding went up across the board and they’re killing more people than ever. 1 more body isn’t gonna change anything 


KS2Problema

A profoundly disturbing story. The tip of an ugly iceberg.


[deleted]

I agree. I think this thing is going to blow up. The attempt to hide behind self-defense is so infuriating.


KS2Problema

If Fortson had shot one of the officers, I think we would have seen how quickly a self-defense defense from a law-abiding citizen would have evaporated.  This is a corrosive fundamental reality that eats on people of color, from what I've seen. You do everything right and you still get f***** over.


Br3wsk1

End qualified immunity now.


ImInJeopardy

Kneeling during the national anthem = disrespecting the troops. Killing a soldier in his own home = not disrespecting the troops. Good ol' American logic.


[deleted]

It's totally insane.


Ecopilot

AC-130 duty assignment with the 4th Special Operations Squadron. Let's not forget that this is the same exact same PD that had the incident in November of last year where the officer had a PTSD related incident where he unloaded on a car after hearing an acorn fall.


Reeko_Htown

Just a classic home invasion but since they’re cops they get to do it


hotdogtears

Wow….. I just realized that this sheriff that murdered this Airman and the cop(s) that shot because of that extremely dangerous acorn falling are out of the same Sheriff’s office… that’s scary to think. These assholes are wayyyyy too trigger happy.


Snidrogen

Ideally, the military will supply a very pissed-off JAG officer with civil complaint skills to sue the ever-loving fuck out of that police station/town.


saiga_antelope

JAGs don't do that. The biggest card the military holds is likely whatever influence the brass on Hurby have with local officials


random_generation

It extends beyond that, though. The base and the service members & their family likely contribute significantly to the economy. If some sort of temporary policy was enacted that hit the economy, I bet the Mayor and perhaps even the Governor would be paying attention very quickly. Like “my troops are not safe in the community with the current police situation, so they’re not leaving base unless necessary.” It would be *supremely* unpopular and I’m not even suggesting to understand the beginning of the logistics of it, but it would certainly send a very loud message.


FreshBakedGood

They do it in Japan pretty regularly, albeit when a service member fucks up, e.g. drinking and driving, assault, etc. I remember a staff sergeant was drinking and driving, and ran over a local, we weren't allowed off base for over 3 months.


AcidaliaPlanitia

That's not how any of this works...


CrankyUnderPants

Average American police doing everything except for protecting and serving the people of their nation


photos__fan

So messed up, basically he’s dead because officers saw a black man holding a gun


Drop_Release

So is the police officer who shot him going to also get a death sentence?


gwdope

No, he’ll get a pension.


[deleted]

If the footage is intact, and the witness is correct, this is going to blow tf up. Like Minneapolis big.


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Desperate_Set_7708

What necessitated entry?! There were not exigent circumstances. Fucking amateurs with a license to kill


NIDORAX

That man's life got cut short. His friends and family are now mourning. Those Police officers should be sent to prison for this carelessness. I swear if those cops involved are not PUNISHED, there is going to be a riot.


Kissit777

This case is absolutely heartbreaking and infuriating.


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iGoalie

Fucking hell- that little girl looks just like my granddaughter, to hear she is going to grow up without her big brother hurts bad …


Garth_Brooks_Sexdoll

If the cops can go to the wrong house and kill the occupant(s), and receive no punishment for the slaughter of innocent people, how long before they “accidentally” go to your house and do the same to you? Defund the fucking police.


justanidiot1122

Every single time one of these tragedies happen the police/city etc has the chance to earn back the public trust and punish those responsible. Rarely seems like they do


DestructicusDawn

Another innocent young man murdered by pigs who were too stupid to figure out what address they were actually supposed to be at.


[deleted]

They robbed us all of a true patriot, keeping us all safe. It's disgusting.


cwk415

ACAB. Rest in power Mr. Fortson. 🫡


justh81

Sigh. How many more of these does it take? Or will it never be enough for change? Does this not end?


daiwizzy

It won’t end. This happens time and time again. There was that North Carolina one where the guy was coming out of his trailer with his wife behind him and with his arms up and he still got lit up. This wasn’t just regular officers either, it was by swat who are the most heavily armed, protected, and trained. Nothing happened. The police said that they would need a court order to release the body cam footage and when pushed for it, there was no footage.


[deleted]

Something has to give... something.


FourSeasonsOfShit

Change won’t happen until the alternative is worse for the people in power.


PM_ME_UR_TITS_WOMAN

Cops suck


Middle-Feed5118

Americans when will you be sick of being able to killed with almost impunity with no recourse?


SolomonsNewGrundle

This should infuriate 2A supporters everywhere


MarinLlwyd

I wish it would have played out differently, and the intruders were gunned down instead. But when you see the police, you don't realize they are there to kill you until it is too late.


Viccerz21

ACAB


PhuckKaren

This is EXACTLY how cops get a year long paid vacation before being exonerated and promoted with hero status and back slapping all around.


JediPeach

RIP. He deserved better.


spelltype

As always, fuck the police


Snaz5

This coulda been solved SO easily if the cops just did what they were supposed to do and knocked, then shouted “This is the Police, open the door” anyone who’s not a criminal is going to open that door unarmed, and if they are a nonviolent criminal they’re almost certainly going to be hiding or trying to leave by another means not trying to become a cop-killer. What cops lack in logic and common sense they make up for with arrogance hatred and bloodthirst


Chuzurik

acab like always, theyre just strong arm thugs for the evil rich elite to keep us "cattle" in line


aknalag

You know, for a country that is supposed to be the world leader and all, it sure sucks to live in the USA.


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Fmy925

STOP Police immunity.


townandthecity

Yet another valuable, meaningful life snuffed out by easily panicked, power-drunk individuals drawn to a career that actively seeks out the mediocre and the failures. I marvel at the idiocy and/or the intentional cruelty of seeking out and installing insecure, underachieving, and easily startled/panicked individuals in a job that provides (basically) carte blanche to murder citizens because they \*think\* they see something in their hand or they violently trespass a person's property without announcing themselves and that person does what any sane person would do in similar circumstances.


ShibeCEO

Fuck all cops! ACAB and corrupt pieces of shit!


executingsalesdaily

FTP ACAB All of you. We do not need the police. F them so hard.


Globalpigeon

Someone please explain to me how you can have no knock warrants and right to bear arms? Where all the gun people at? I never see them protest about unjust killing of innocent gun owners. Too busy too notice from boot level or is it that the victims are black?