Roger Fortson of Fort Walton Beach, Okaloosa County, Florida, United States has died. He was 23.
Who is Roger Fortson?
Fortson graduated from high school with honors. He legally owned a gun and he had no criminal record.
On November 9, 2019, Fortson joined the U.S. Air Force as an AC-130J gunner. He was assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field in Florida as a special missions aviator.
On May 3, 2024, Fortson was alone in his apartment at Chez Elan Apartments on Racetrack Road in Fort Walton Beach and on a Facetime call with a woman, according to Ben Crump, an attorney representing his family. While on the video call, the senior airman heard a knock on the door, according to the woman.
Nobody answered when Fortson asked who was knocking. He saw no one through the peephole so he grabbed his gun.
When Fortson walked back to his living room, Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office deputies burst through the door. He was shot six times in the chest.
“I can’t breathe,” Fortson said while on the ground after being shot, according to the woman he was on a video call with. He was taken to a hospital where he later died.
The deputies were responding to a call for a disturbance at an apartment complex at 319 Racetrack Road around 4:30 p.m. that day. Later that day, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office released a statement claiming that the deputy who shot Fortson “reacted in self defense” after encountering the senior airman who was armed with a gun.
The deputy, who has yet to be identified, is male. He was placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation, according to Okaloosa County sheriff Eric Aden.
“I immediately placed the deputy on administrative leave and have asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to conduct the investigation that is required in such incidents,” Aden said in a statement on May 8, 2024. “The State Attorney’s Office will also conduct an independent review.”
CONAN Daily 