Senior Airman Roger Fortson was mistakenly shot by Okaloosa County deputies who entered the wrong apartment. The call for justice intensifies as investigations continue.
In Fort Walton Beach, Florida, a tragic incident occurred when deputies from the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, responding to a disturbance call at an apartment complex, mistakenly entered the wrong unit and fatally shot Senior Airman Roger Fortson. At the time of the incident, Fortson, a 23-year-old Black U.S. Air Force member, was engaged in a Facetime call and was in possession of a legally owned firearm. The confrontation resulted in the deputies shooting him six times, leading to his subsequent death in a hospital.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, representing the Fortson family, has highlighted the urgency of transparency in the ongoing investigation and has called for the release of the body cam footage to clarify the circumstances of the shooting. Crump, renowned for his role in several high-profile law enforcement cases, has expressed concerns about the manner of the deputies’ entry and their fatal decision-making.
As the investigation, led by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the local State Attorney’s Office, progresses, there are increasing public and familial demands for accountability and justice for Fortson, who served as a special missions aviator in the 4th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field. The involved deputy has been placed on administrative leave pending the results of the investigation. Further developments are awaited as Fortson’s family and their legal representative continue to seek explanations for the events leading to his untimely death.
