Florida deputies who fatally shot US airman burst into wrong apartment, attorney says

US airman fatally shot by Florida deputies

Deputies responding to a disturbance call at a Florida apartment complex burst into the wrong unit and fatally shot a Black U.S. Air Force airman who was home alone when they saw he was armed with a gun, an attorney for the man’s family said Wednesday. Senior Airman Roger Fortson, 23, who was based at the Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, was in his off-base apartment in Fort Walton Beach when the shooting happened on May 3.

MIAMI (AP) - Deputies responding to a disturbance call at a Florida apartment complex burst into the wrong unit and fatally shot a Black U.S. Air Force airman who was home alone when they saw he was armed with a gun, an attorney for the man’s family said Wednesday.

Senior Airman Roger Fortson, 23, who was based at the Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, was in his off-base apartment in Fort Walton Beach when the shooting happened on May 3.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said in a statement that Fortson was on a Facetime call with a woman at the time of the encounter.

According to Crump, the woman, whom Crump didn’t identify, said Fortson was alone in his apartment when he heard a knock at the door. He asked who was there but didn’t get a response. A few minutes later, Fortson heard a louder knock but didn’t see anyone when he looked through the peephole, Crump said, citing the woman’s account.

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson, 23, died Friday, May 3, following an incident at his off-base residence. Fortson was assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron. He entered active duty on Nov. 19, 2019. [Credit: U.S. Air Force]

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The woman said Fortson was concerned and went to retrieve his gun, which Crump said was legally owned.

As Fortson walked back through his living room, deputies burst through the door, saw that Fortson was armed, and shot him six times, according to Crump’s statement. The woman said Fortson was on the ground, saying, "I can’t breathe," after he was shot, Crump said.

FILE - Ben Crump speaks onstage during "Civil" premiere during the 2022 Tribeca Festival at SVA Theater on June 12, 2022 in New York City. (Monica Schipper/Getty Images for Netflix)

Fortson died at a hospital, officials said. The deputy involved in the shooting was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

Crump's statement said the woman said Fortson wasn’t causing a disturbance during their Facetime call and believed that the deputies must have had the wrong apartment.

"The circumstances surrounding Roger’s death raise serious questions that demand immediate answers from authorities, especially considering the alarming witness statement that the police entered the wrong apartment," Crump said in the statement.

"We are calling for transparency in the investigation into Roger’s death and the immediate release of body cam video to the family," Crump said. "His family and the public deserve to know what occurred in the moments leading up to this tragedy."

Crump is a nationally known attorney based in Tallahassee, Florida. He has been involved in multiple high-profile law enforcement shooting cases involving Black people, including those of Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor, Tyre Nichols, and George Floyd.

Crump and Fortson’s family plan to speak at a news conference in Fort Walton Beach on Thursday morning.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement last week that a deputy responding to a call of a disturbance in progress at the apartment complex reacted in self-defense after encountering an armed man. The office did not explain what kind of disturbance deputies responded to or who called them.

The sheriff’s office also declined immediately to identify the responding deputies or their races. The office did not respond to an email or phone message on Wednesday. Officials said earlier this week that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the local State Attorney’s Office will investigate the shooting.

FDLE spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger told The Associated Press on Wednesday that it is highly unlikely the agency will have any further comment until the investigation is complete.

Fortson was assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron as a special missions aviator. As a member of the squadron’s AC-130J Ghostrider aircrew, one of his roles was to load the gunship’s 30mm and 105mm cannons during missions.

The sheriff’s office didn’t immediately respond to an email or voicemail seeking comment Wednesday by The Associated Press.

Fort Walton Beach is between Panama City Beach and Pensacola in the Florida Panhandle.

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Associated Press reporter Curt Anderson contributed to this story from St. Petersburg, Florida.