US airman Roger Fortson killed by deputies who may have hit wrong home, Ben Crump says
An active-duty airman was shot and killed during a deputy-involved shooting in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, last Friday, and his attorney is saying the police may have entered the wrong apartment.
According to a 1st Special Operations Wing release, the airman was identified as 23-year-old U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson. He was assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron and entered active duty on Nov. 19, 2019.
According to the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office, a deputy responded to a call of a disturbance in progress on the afternoon of Friday, May 3.
The deputy "encountered an armed man," according to a news release, and the deputy shot the man.
Fortson was taken to a local hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries, according to police.
The deputy in question has been placed on administrative leave pending the results of an investigation from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Police said the state attorney's office will also conduct an independent review of the incident.
Roger Fortson was alone in apartment, attorney says
Fortson's family has retained national civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump to represent them. Crump has represented the families of Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, among others.
According to a news release from Crump's law office, the encounter played out differently than what the OCSO has been reporting.
Crump says a witness who was on a FaceTime call with Fortson at the time of the shooting said that Fortson was alone in his apartment when he heard a knock at his door.
Fortson asked, "Who is it?" and failed to get a response, Crump said in a news release Wednesday.
A few minutes later, Fortson heard an "aggressive" knock, but failed to see anyone once he looked out his peephole.
Fortson, concerned for his safety, retrieved his legally owned gun, the release says. As Fortson returned to the living room, the witness said, deputies "burst through his door." When deputies saw the gun, they fired at Fortson six times.
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“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 his statement on Wednesday.
"We are calling for transparency in the investigation into Roger’s death and the immediate release of body cam video to the family. His family and the public deserve to know what occurred in the moments leading up to this tragedy," Crump said in the statement.
Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at [email protected].