23-year-old active duty Senior Airman Roger Fortson was shot and killed by an Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Deputy in Florida on Friday.
Records indicate that Fortson was stationed at the Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field. However, he died at his off-base home.
Fortson’s family has retained civil rights and personal injury lawyer Ben Crump who has stated that deputies went into the wrong apartment after trying to answer to a disturbance call. But, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office deputies state that they acted in self-defense and that Fortson was in possession of a firearm.
During a press conference on Thursday, Fortson’s relatives expressed that they desire the truth to come out and his name to be cleared.
Fortson had been on a FaceTime call with a woman at the time of the incident. The woman reported that Fortson was worried and went to get his weapon which Crump said he owned legally.
While Fortson walked back through his living room, deputies came through his door, saw he had a gun, and shot him six times. Fortson had been on the ground pleading, “I can’t breathe,” subsequent to being shot.
Fortson was declared deceased at a medical facility, and the deputy involved in the shooting was put on administrative leave as an investigation continues.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office stated that body camera recordings from the scene will be released.
