Suspended Commissioner speaks out about drawing his gun at supermarket
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) -- A Miramar commissioner who was ousted from his seat after he drew a gun in a supermarket is finally speaking about why he brandished his weapon.
On Friday, Fitzroy Salesman appeared before a judge for his arraignment on charges of brandishing a gun at a Winn-Dixie grocery store last year. "Mr. Salesman, you are charged with aggravated assault with a firearm," the judge told him.
Salesman plead not-guilty. "Your honor, I am innocent of the charge," he said in court. "I felt threatened on that night. I was fearful for my life, and I took defensive action."
After his court appearance, he spoke to the media for the first time regarding the night of Nov. 21, 2007. "I was asked to go outside," Salesman said, "and I did not want to take it outside. I was not there to look for a fight with anyone, and, about that time, the young man decided he was going to take it outside. He said, 'N-----, I am going to kick your a--.' Now, if that's not a threat, I don't know what is."
Eric Schwartzreich, Salesman's defense attorney, said the victim has even admitted, on the record, he wanted to fight Salesman. "The alleged victim in this case, in the questions that were asked of the state attorney, has admitted that he was going to take Mr. Salesman outside and fight him," he said. "That's in the statements."
Schwartzreich added there were in fact two men that wanted to fight Salesman, and a witness at the scene said they indeed seemed threatening. "One of the cashiers who worked at the Winn-Dixie indicated that she felt that she did not know what these individuals were going to do," Schwartzreich said, "that they could have taken him outside. There were two of them. They were much younger than Mr. Salesman."
The governor suspended Salesman following his arrest last year, the day before Thanksgiving, after police said he brandished a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol on the man during the dispute at the Winn-Dixie supermarket located near the corner of University Drive and Miramar Parkway.
Salesman does carry a concealed weapon's permit for the gun. As for the victim, his attorney said his client is out of town and has no comment on the arraignment.
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