Florida

BSO Deputy Charged in Fatal Air Rifle Shooting Said Nothing Was in Suspect's Ears

The Broward Sheriff's Office deputy charged with manslaughter in the 2013 shooting of a man carrying an air rifle said he didn't see anything in the man's ears at the time of the shooting, according to an official statement to detectives he made shortly after the shooting.

Deputy Peter Peraza told detectives Jermaine McBean had nothing in his ears that would have obstructed his ability to hear the deputy's commands to drop the rifle before the fatal shooting, according to the statement obtained by NBC 6 Wednesday.

Peraza, 37, was indicted this past December and has pleaded not guilty to the charge. He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

McBean's family has filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit contending that Peraza fired unnecessarily and that the 33-year-old McBean likely did not hear police commands that he drop the authentic-looking air rifle because he was listening to music through earbuds.

A photo taken shortly after the shooting appeared to show McBean wearing the earbuds.

Defense attorney Eric Schwartzreich has said Peraza was acting to protect the deputies and the public from a potential gunman in the July 2013 shooting. Peraza is invoking Florida's so-called "Stand Your Ground" self-defense law in the shooting.

Peraza's statement to detectives was given on Aug. 5, 2013, less than a week after the shooting.

Peraza described for the investigators what he saw when first spotting McBean.

"As I was driving south on Dixie Highway, I saw the black, a black male with a white tee shirt in jeans, walking north on Dixie Highway on the west lane the west side lane, walking north and he did have a rifle in his hand," Peraza said. "It looked he was kinda walking with it. I could describe that it looked like the shotgun that I carry in my vehicle but the barrel was thinner and the stock was green cama, camouflage."

Peraza told detectives he became very concerned when McBean went into an apartment complex.

"Being the, the time of day there’s a lot of civilians there are walking around inside. There’s children and families that are in the pool areas that walking around their community," he said.

Peraza is due back in court on Thursday.

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