Three months after Florida police shot and killed a computer engineer walking with an unloaded air rifle, two of the officers involved received awards for bravery, even though the incident was still under investigation.
Now their boss — who stood next to them at the ceremony — says those commendations were a mistake and plans to revise department rules.
"The policy was violated," Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told NBC News. "They should not have received the awards."
Jermaine McBean was killed in 2013 as he walked home from a pawn shop. Police say McBean ignored shouts to drop the weapon and pointed it at them, giving them no choice but to fire.
Questions about the police account have been raised by a witness to the shooting and a photo of the dead man that seems to show him with earbuds in his ears.
