Attorney for slain airman, sheriff dig in after release of shooting body-camera footage
An active-duty U.S. airman was shot and killed during a deputy-involved shooting on May 3.
Roger Fortson, 23, was shot and killed by an Okaloosa County Sheriff's deputy when, according to the department, the deputy was responding to "a disturbance in progress."
The Fortson family retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump who has accused the department of covering up misconduct in the aftermath of the shooting.
“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 a statement on Wednesday.
Family, police dispute events preceding shooting
Sheriff Eric Aden held a press conference Thursday at which he disputed some aspects of what the Fortson family has alleged and provided police body cam footage to show that the deputy involved in the shooting had visited the right door when answering the disturbance call.
The video released Thursday indicates that the deputy was given a specific room number by a woman at the apartment complex and that he clearly knocked on a door and identified himself as being a deputy.
Though no sound from within the apartment indicates a violent argument of the type described by the woman in the video was occurring when the deputy arrived, Aden said "Mr. Fortson’s comments indicate that he did acknowledge it was law enforcement at his door, and that he arrived at the door with a firearm in his hand."
The video indicates the deputy stood to the side of the door, out of sight of the peephole, and began firing immediately after the door was opened.
Crump also held a press conference Thursday to present what he says is the real story of how Fortson died; shot inside his own apartment by a cop who had burst in while he conversed over Facetime with his girlfriend.
An attorney from Crump's office said the law firm has located "an unofficial redacted 911 call" that has led them to believe a disturbance had been reported to the leasing office at the Elan Apartment "from what we believe to be a fourth party."
She said the attorneys representing the Fortson family believe the disturbance call was the one that brought deputies to the scene of the fatal shooting but continue to seek answers.
After having a chance to review the body camera footage Thursday, Fortson's family released a statement saying:
“In the four-and-a-half minute, heavily redacted video, it is very troubling that the deputy gave no verbal commands and shot multiple times within a split second of the door being opened, killing Roger. Despite the redactions, the video has provided some answers, but it’s also raised even more troubling questions: As the officer didn’t tell Roger to drop the weapon before shooting, was the officer trained to give verbal warnings? Did the officer try to initiate life-saving measures? Was the officer trained to deal with law-abiding citizens who are registered gun owners?"
Girlfriend witnessed shooting on Facetime
Crump said the girlfriend, who has hired an attorney and is staying out of the public eye for now, has told him "she heard everything" that happened inside Fortson's apartment on the afternoon of the shooting.
She said Fortson was startled by an aggressive pounding on the door of the apartment, but when he peered through the peephole, he could see no one on the other side, so he went and retrieved his legally registered gun.
"She just heard shots and he was on the ground, they just said 'he's shot up'" Meka Fortson, Roger's mother, said during Crump's press conference. "My baby was shot up."
Who was Roger Fortson?
Meka Fortson called Roger the backbone of her family and said he had enlisted in the military after graduating high school to work toward his dream of buying her a home.
"He was living his dream, he was going to make life better for his mother and family," she said.
He was also well respected by his military superiors and colleagues, she said. Roger was a was assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron and entered active duty on Nov. 19, 2019.
"Everybody has told us what a respectable young man he was," Meka Fortson said, adding that he would have had too much respect for law enforcement officers to confront them.