FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla — Newly-released body camera video shows the moments leading up to a shooting where a Florida deputy killed an Atlanta airman.
Senior Airman Roger Fortson, a 23-year-old U.S. service member, was fatally shot on May 3 after the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office claimed a deputy responding to a call about a disturbance in progress "reacted in self-defense after he encountered a 23-year-old man armed with a gun." However, attorneys for the family said he was on a FaceTime call and deputies must have had the wrong apartment.
The 4 minutes and 21 seconds of edited video released by the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office shows what happened when the deputy arrived at the scene at the interaction he had with Fortson. The clip has some portions blurred, including the moment Fortson is shot.
***Viewer discretion is advised when viewing this video. ***
The lead-up
When the video begins, a Florida sheriff's deputy is driving in a car and then comes to a stop. He parks in front of a beige apartment complex with multiple buildings. The deputy then walks into a building there and talks with a man.
The deputy asks, "What's going on?"
"I'm not sure," the other man said. "I just was told to let her know if you guys come by. So, I'm gonna give her a quick call and let you guys know. I'll let her know."
"So, there was a fight going on or something," the deputy questioned.
The man said he was not present for any fight. The video then cuts to the deputy walking with a woman to another building. The deputy asks again if there was fighting.
A woman can be heard saying that she was told the fighting happens frequently but that it sounded like it was getting out of hand.
"Which door," the deputy questioned.
"I'm not sure. Two weeks ago, I was walking by their apartment basically on this side, and I was hearing some yelling, like, shut the f*** up, like you stupid B word and all this other stuff," the woman said to the deputy.
The woman said she also heard a slap but said at the time that she wasn't sure where it came from and didn't want to call the police.
The deputy again questioned which room it was, and the woman gave it to him. She said it was unit 1401. But before he goes up, he asks the woman to direct the other deputy that's coming through the area.
"You're going to go up to the 4th floor, and it's going to be on this side," the woman said out of frame of the video.
When the deputy gets off the elevator, he walks down to E 1401, as shown in the video.
The interaction
The deputy knocks on the door and steps away from it without announcing himself. He walks to the other side of the door and waits a few seconds. There are inaudible noises and sounds of mumbling that are hard to make out.
The deputy knocks again on the door -- announcing himself.
"Sheriff's Office. Open the door," the deputy said.
He knocks again and announces himself a second time.
The door opens.
"Step back," the deputy said.
Soon after this command, multiple gunshots ring out.
"Drop the gun! Drop the gun," the deputy yelled.
"It's over there," Fortson said.
"Drop the gun," the deputy repeated.
"I don't have it," Fortson can be heard stating.
The video clip ends with Fortson on the ground and the deputy telling him not to move. The deputy can heard asking for emergency services.
What the family's lawyers say
Civil Rights attorney for the family, Ben Crump, said that Fortson was on a FaceTime call with a woman at the time of the encounter. According to Crump, the unidentified woman said Fortson was alone in his apartment when he heard a knock on the door. He asked who was there but did not get a response.
A few minutes later, Fortson heard a louder knock but didn’t see anyone when he looked through the peephole, Crump said, citing the woman’s account. The woman said Fortson was concerned and went to retrieve his gun, which Crump said was legally owned.
As Fortson walked back through his living room, deputies burst through the door, saw that Fortson was armed and shot him six times, according to Crump’s statement. The woman said Fortson was on the ground, saying, “I can’t breathe,” after he was shot, Crump said.
Fortson died at a hospital, officials said. The deputy involved in the shooting was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.
The woman said Fortson wasn’t causing a disturbance during their FaceTime call and believes that the deputies must have had the wrong apartment, Crump’s statement said.
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In the news conference on Thursday, Crump noted, "For whatever reason, they thought he was a bad guy, but he was a good guy... they killed a good guy.
Fortson's family described him as a kind, intelligent, humble and passionate man who inspired them.
Attorneys previously told 11Alive that Fortson was from Atlanta and graduated from McNair High School in DeKalb County. After graduating, he enlisted in the Air Force and was based at the Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field—right near Fort Walton Beach, a city in Florida's Panhandle.
What the sheriff's office says
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement last week that a deputy responding to a call of a disturbance in progress at the apartment complex reacted in self-defense after encountering an armed man. The office did not offer details on what kind of disturbance deputies were responding to or who called them at the time.
Sheriff Eric Aden noted he had met with Fortson's family regarding the tragedy. He also argued that the narrative that the deputy had the wrong apartment and simply burst through the door was inaccurate.
"While it might be difficult to see, there are many questions the investigation must answer before determining if the deputy's actions were justified," Aden said.
Officials said earlier this week that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the local State Attorney’s Office will investigate the shooting.
Sheriff Aden also stated that he told Fortson's family, "They have my word if this shooting is found to be unjustified, their son's name will be fully vindicated, and justice will be served."
