The video shows a deputy shooting a black airman in his own home

Florida sheriffs released body camera footage Thursday that shows a police officer fatally shooting Roger Fortson, a black active-duty airman, in his own home.

Fortson, 23, was shot six times and killed by an unnamed Okaloosa County sheriff's deputy on May 3. Lawyers for Fortson's family, including civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, had claimed that the deputy who shot Fortson was sent to the wrong apartment. But at Thursday's news conference, Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden called those claims false.

The Okaloosa Sheriff's Department said a deputy arrived at Fortson's apartment complex following a disturbance call. In the body camera footage, a resident is walking with the deputy and says she heard loud noises and arguments coming from Fortson's apartment and that it sounded like things were “getting out of control.” She gives him Fortson's unit number.

After exiting an elevator, the deputy repeatedly knocks on Fortson's apartment door but gets no audible response. He then explains that he is from the sheriff and tells Fortson to open the door.

Crump said in a statement Wednesday that Fortson was on a video call with his girlfriend at the time. After the deputy knocked, she heard him ask, “Who's there?” according to Crump. Fortson then grabbed his gun out of concern for his safety since he was alone in his apartment at the time, attorneys said.

After Fortson opens the door, the deputy yells at him to “stand back” and then immediately shoots. After repeatedly shooting Fortson, he tells Fortson several times to drop the weapon. Fortson, already on the ground, replies, “It’s over there.”

Aden did not answer questions after showing footage at the press conference. “We are proud of our commitment to transparency and accountability,” Aden told reporters.

Crump's office criticized the deputy's behavior in the video, noting that he fired first before asking Fortson to put the gun down.

“In the four-and-a-half-minute, heavily redacted video, it is disturbing that the deputy gave no verbal commands and fired multiple shots within a split second of opening the door, killing Roger,” Crump said in a statement on Thursday.

“Was the officer trained to give verbal warnings? “Did the officer attempt to initiate life-saving measures?” Crump added. “Has the officer been trained to deal with law-abiding citizens who are registered gun owners?”

In an initial statement on May 7, the sheriff's office described Fortson as an “armed individual” and claimed the deputy acted in “self-defense” during the shooting. Aden said Thursday that the deputy involved has been placed on administrative leave pending an ongoing investigation involving the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

On Thursday, Crump stood by Chantemekki Fortson, Roger's mother, as she addressed reporters. She held a framed photo of Roger in uniform in her arms as tears streamed down her face.

“Roger Fortson was the best America had to offer. He was a patriot,” Crump told reporters during Thursday’s news conference. “He fought for our way of life. He fought for everyone.”

Chantemekki Fortson said Thursday that her son is part of the Special Mission and Aviation Unit and is stationed at nearby Hubert Field.

“He was handpicked. His colonels have all contacted me and told me that he is a very special young man,” she told reporters. “Even when I got sick and he wanted to go home, they told him no because he was so smart, he was so intelligent.”

“They don’t know what they took from me,” she added as family members hugged her.