United States aviator wounded in videotaped shooting releases statement

The 21-year-old Iraq war veteran seen in a video being shot by a sheriff's deputy says in a recorded statement that he has difficulty walking.

Photo: United States aviator wounded in videotaped shooting releases statement

Senior Airman Elio Carrion released a videotaped statement through his attorney Thursday, a day after San Bernardino County sheriff's Deputy Ivory J. Webb pleaded not guilty to attempted voluntary manslaughter and was released on US$100,000 (84,000 euros) bail.

"My physical therapy continues to progress and I still have difficulties walking," Carrion says, looking into the video camera. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to speak publicly, but right now I'm focused on my physical therapy and healing."

The tape shows him sitting on a couch next to his wife and moving around with the aid of a walker.

The Jan. 29 shooting was videotaped by a bystander and broadcast on U.S. national television. It shows Webb shooting Carrion, who was not armed, in the chest, shoulder and thigh after a brief high-speed chase involving a car in which the airman was a passenger.

Webb, who faces up to 18 1/2 years in prison if convicted, has not spoken publicly about the shooting.

Carrion, who is assigned to a security unit at Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport , Louisiana , has not been charged with a crime, reports the AP.

D.M.