Unjustified killing.

So, if you click the link to this video, you are gonna see somebody die.

Just fair warning.

I've delayed talking about this case. Now, I think that I'm sufficiently educated regarding the killing of Roger Fortson to say something about it.

It seems pretty clear that the apartment management gave the deputy the wrong apartment number. The police were called over concern of domestic abuse. Fortson apparently was alone and lived alone. Still, even if the address were correct and Fortson had slapped a significant other, this shooting doesn't appear to be justified to me.

Still, one thing that should be made clear is that, if you do have a reasonable perception of a imminent deadly force threat from a person with a gun, you don't need to wait until that person points the gun at you before you react. There isn't a person on the planet who is quick enough on the draw to beat a person who already has a gun aimed at him. It would be unreasonable to hold people to that standard.

I'm also going to acknowledge that this isn't as egregious as the Sonya Massey killing.

I'll also say that, if I was invited to a house party, and somebody gave me the wrong address, I knocked on the door, and the person in the house opened the door with a gun in his hand, I'd be a little on edge. Still obviously, if I pulled my own gun and unloaded six shots into the person in his doorway, I'd go to prison for the rest of my life.

Cops need to understand that this is America. If you're banging on somebody's door, there's a good chance that the person has a gun. They should also know that we have more guns than people in this country, and that means that there are far more gun owners than their are criminals. That means that most people with guns aren't criminals.

Police should also understand the importance of announcing themselves clearly. This officer knocked more times than he announced.

What's more, officers should know that announcing isn't proof that you're actually a cop. Criminals lie. For all I know, you're a crook yelling that you're a cop to get me to turn off the alarm and open the door.

Cops also need to understand that there's a higher than zero chance that, when they knock on the door, the person inside the home might be on the toilet, or asleep, or whatever, and that the person might need a moment to answer the door, and may not have heard the announcement.

A series of mistakes were made -- several of them honest mistakes.

Shooting Roger Fortson six times in his doorway, killing him, and ordering him to drop the gun after he was already on the ground breathing his last breaths wasn't an honest mistake. This was an unjustified killing.