Family Still Awaiting Justice Years After Loved One Was Shot, Killed by Homestead Officer

It was July 16, 2015, and Edward Foster was found on the ground near his residence in Homestead.

“He shot that man for no reason. That man didn’t do a thing to nobody,” a woman is heard saying on cellphone video NBC 6 obtained at the time.

Foster had been shot by a Homestead police officer. Sources said at the time that calls had been made to 911 about a man with a gun.

“That man ain’t got nothing," a woman on the cellphone video is heard saying.

Foster was simply coming home from the grocery store when he died, his family says.

“I want justice. I want Anthony Green to be arrested on murder charges for executing Edward Foster,” said his sister, Crystal Foster. “All the witnesses said the same thing. It took less than a minute — within 10-15 seconds — my brother was gunned down. My brother was shot multiple times in his back. My brother was shot in all different areas in his body for walking to the store. And this officer instead of being handcuffed and charged with murder, he received a promotion."

Michael Pizzi, the Fosters' attorney, said Edward was killed for no reason by Green, a Homestead police officer. Pizzi says he wrote a letter to the state attorney Wednesday calling for them to act.

“After five years of investigation, the state attorney’s office and the authorities have done absolutely nothing to deliver justice to the Foster family and his six surviving children,” Pizzi said.

Foster’s family says their case is an example of Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle not taking action. They say in her almost three decades on the job, she has not charged an on-duty officer when the officer fired and a person died. 

The state attorney sent us a statement saying in part, “It is absolutely essential that we collect and review all possible evidence and interview all eyewitnesses in order to have a complete and thorough understanding of the facts before we conclude our investigation. Once that has been accomplished, we will conclude our investigation, finalize our report and forward it to our Police Shooting Review Committee."

The statement also indicated a person who claims online to be a witness is someone they want to speak with, but that individual hasn’t come in to talk yet.

Homestead police Wednesday afternoon said that Green was placed on administrative leave for a month after the shooting and was never promoted, but transferred to the detective bureau where his contact with the public would be limited when compared to working as a road officer. The department says it too is waiting for the Miami-Dade State Attorney to finish its work and has not been part of the investigation.

Seeing the officers who took George Floyd into custody being charged gave the Fosters hope that some justice will come for them.

“This is the year. Unfortunately, George Floyd died, but he died on the cross for us and when he called for his mom, he called for everybody's mom, and now the world is looking at police retaliation and everyone is being held accountable for their actions," Crystal Foster said.

The family had dropped a suit they filed in federal court against the City of Homestead and the officer, but Pizzi says very quickly that suit would be active again. The city said due to the ongoing investigation by Rundle’s office and the litigation coming back, it could not comment.