A South Florida family says their quest for justice won’t end despite the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office's decision clearing the Homestead officer who shot and killed their loved one more than five years ago.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s findings indicate Homestead Officer Anthony Green was justified in shooting Edward Foster back in July of 2015. The 28-page document that concludes the officer feared for his life and was justified in shooting Foster was approved by State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle on October 7th.
The investigation took five years and now Foster’s family is calling it a whitewash of what really happened.
"It was like me reliving the moment again. I felt like I had just got the call that my brother was shot and killed by an officer," sister Crystal Foster said Wednesday, while wiping back tears.
Crystal Foster said she learned late Tuesday that Green had been cleared in the shooting.
"I’m angry. I’m so angry," she said.
The State Attorney’s investigators examined forensics and the medical examiner's findings indicated Foster was shot eight times: once in the arm, twice in the back, three times in the leg, and twice in the the buttocks.
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Investigators also spoke with Green who told them Foster was running then pointed a weapon at him.
But in cell phone video taken just after the shooting a woman can be heard saying there was no reason for gunfire.
"My brother never pointed a gun to no vehicle and then you’re saying he ran and pointed the gun again, it’s insane and it shows how they have no remorse for human life because my brother was innocent," Crystal Foster said.
The State Attorney’s report says in part: “Officer Green followed in his vehicle while shouting commands to stop running….Mr. Foster turned and pointed his firearm at Officer Green. Green, while seated in his police vehicle, discharged his firearm….and struck Mr. Foster. Based on the evidence….it’s reasonable to believe that Officer Green feared for his life and considered it necessary to use deadly force to prevent injury to himself. We find that Officer Anthony Green was legally justified."
“It’s a travesty and a miscarriage of justice,” said Mike Pizzi, the family’s attorney. "He was shot in the back while he was running away by a police officer who could not have possibly been threatened by him. The report is a whitewash and it's amazing that it took so many years to do this whitewash."
"My brother’s life mattered. Edward Foster’s life mattered and we are going to continue this fight because it's not over and I want to let everyone know you continue to fight because at the end of the day we have the proof is in the pudding," Crystal Foster said.
The State Attorney’s office on Wednesday said they would have no further comment and their findings speak for themselves. The family has already sued in state court and now plans to file another lawsuit in federal court.
Homestead Police had placed Green in a different job while the investigation was underway. They said they had no part in the investigation and called the loss of life of one of their citizens tragic.
