A Black airman in Florida was tragically shot and killed by a sheriff's deputy over the weekend, sparking questions about a potential mistake in entering the wrong apartment in response to a disturbance call. The family's attorney is urging the release of body-camera footage depicting the shooting, which occurred on May 3.
According to attorney Ben Crump, who represents the family of the victim, Roger Fortson, 23, a senior Air Force airman, was struck by six shots while he was at home in his apartment. The deputy, responding to what he believed to be a disturbance, allegedly encountered an armed man and reacted in self-defense. However, Fortson's girlfriend, who was on a FaceTime call with him at the time, stated that Fortson was unarmed and simply asked "Who is it?" when he heard a knock on his door.
Fortson, who had just returned home from playing video games with friends, legally owned a gun but did not fire it. Crump emphasized that Fortson was not involved in any disturbance and was alone in his apartment. He called for the release of the police body-camera footage to clarify the events leading to Fortson's death.
The incident draws comparisons to the killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, in March 2020, where police mistakenly raided her apartment, and the subsequent protests against racism in law enforcement. Fortson, described as a patriot with aspirations of becoming a pilot, was taken to a hospital after the shooting and later died from his wounds.
The deputy involved has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation, though the sheriff's office has not provided further details about the investigation. Fortson's family is demanding transparency and a truthful account of the events leading to his death.