Jermaine Loxckley McBean, 33

Oakland Park, Florida
July 31, 2013

Agencies: Broward County Sheriff's Office Florida

Cause of death: Not Yet Known


Follow This Case


Last updated: almost 6 years ago

Overview

Failure to surrender an air rifle that looked like a hunting weapon led to the shooting death of an Oakland Park man by a Broward Sheriff's deputy, the agency said Thursday.

Deputies responded at about 4 p.m. Wednesday to the 5200 block of North Dixie Highway after receiving 911 calls about a man walking there with a rifle, the Sheriff's Office said.

After entering the two-story Green Tree Apartments where he lived, Jermaine McBean, 33, a computer systems engineer, was fatally wounded by Deputy Peter Peraza, BSO said.

McBean's family was trying to get more information about the shooting and what led up to it, his brother Alfred McBean said Thursday.

"At this moment in time, we're still trying to understand what happened," McBean said. "We're in shock. We're still trying to cope with the loss right now."

McBean was carrying a Winchester model 1000 air rifle, according to BSO, which did not release a photograph of it but said it "resembled a high-powered hunting rifle."

The air rifle shoots pellets and is used for target practice or hunting small game, according to the manufacturer.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright said in a press release that McBean was ordered "several times to stop and drop" his gun, and "he began to turn and point it in the direction of the deputy," Peraza, who fired his handgun.

According to police, McBean ignored police orders to stop and drop the rifle, and was not wearing headphones that would have prevented him from hearing them.  However, a photograph revealed McBean’s body on the ground wearing earbuds.  Further, one of the 911 callers contradicted the police claims that McBean pointed the rifle towards them.

Three months after the killing, two of the officers on the scene–including the deputy who fatally shot McBean–were awarded for their role in the shooting, a move which McBean’s family allege was part of a cover-up.

Legal Action

May 2015 Lawsuit filed

December 2015 A Florida grand jury has indicted Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy Peter Peraza for manslaughter

January 2016 Pleads not guilty

February 2016 Prosecutors Release Grand Jury Testimony Of Deputy Charged With Manslaughter

On August 3, 2016, a Florida judge dismissed manslaughter charges the suspended sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed Jermaine McBean .

Community and Family Efforts

November 2013 #BlackLivesMatter protest

Additional Resources: