Deputies responding to a disturbance call at a Florida apartment complex mistakenly entered the wrong unit and fatally shot a Black U.S. Air Force airman, Senior Airman Roger Fortson, who was armed with a gun in his off-base apartment in Fort Walton Beach on May 3. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, representing Fortson’s family, stated that Fortson was on a Facetime call with a woman at the time of the incident. The woman recounted that Fortson was alone in his apartment when he heard a knock at the door, and when he retrieved his legally owned gun out of concern, deputies burst in, saw the gun, and shot him six times.
Fortson, who was based at the Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, died at a hospital as a result of the shooting. The deputy involved was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. The woman on the Facetime call attested that Fortson was not causing any disturbance and speculates that the deputies entered the wrong apartment. Crump is calling for transparency in the investigation and the immediate release of body cam video to shed light on the events leading up to Fortson’s death. Crump, who has been involved in other high-profile law enforcement shooting cases involving Black individuals, plans to address the media with Fortson’s family in Fort Walton Beach.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office initially stated that a deputy reacted in self-defense after encountering an armed man while responding to a disturbance call at the apartment complex. However, they did not specify the nature of the disturbance or the details of who called for assistance. The office did not disclose the identities or races of the deputies involved in the incident. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the local State Attorney’s Office are conducting an investigation into the shooting, and the agency has indicated that they will not provide further comments until the investigation is complete.
Fortson, who was assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron as a special missions aviator, played a role in loading the gunship’s cannons during missions. The circumstances surrounding Fortson’s death have raised significant questions, particularly the assertion that deputies entered the wrong apartment. The family and the public deserve answers about the events that led to this tragedy. Fort Walton Beach, where the shooting took place, is located in the Florida Panhandle between Panama City Beach and Pensacola. The community is awaiting the results of the ongoing investigation to provide clarity on the sequence of events that resulted in Fortson’s death.