FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The lawyer for a Florida sheriff's deputy charged with manslaughter in the 2013 shooting of a man carrying only an air rifle is seeking access to the dead man's mental health records.
A hearing is set Thursday in Broward County Circuit Court on the records issue. Deputy Peter Peraza's attorney says in court papers that 33-year-old Jermaine McBean had chronic mental problems that could have played a role in his shooting death.
McBean was fatally shot by the 37-year-old Peraza while carrying the real-looking air rifle across his shoulders at a crowded apartment complex. McBean's family says he didn't hear police commands to drop the weapon because he was listening to music through earbuds. McBean was black. Peraza is white.
Peraza faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
