"Stand your ground": Charges dropped against officer who killed black man carrying air rifle

Peter Peraza, 37, testified during a hearing that Jermaine McBean initially refused commands from him and other deputies to drop the authentic-looking weapon and then turned and pointed it toward the deputies, the Associated Press reported. Peraza fired three shots, killing McBean. The deputy was the first Florida law enforcement officer criminally charged for an on-duty killing in more than three decades.

Prosecutors told the AP that they intend to appeal Circuit Judge Michael Usan’s dismissal.

In July 2013, worried 911 callers reported seeing McBean carrying what appeared to be a real rifle down a busy street, The Washington Post reported. The gun was in fact an air rifle. After the killing, McBean’s family contended he was listening to music with earbuds and likely could not hear police commands to put down the gun.