In Fort Walton Beach, Florida, the mother of Senior Airman Roger Fortson, a Black U.S. Air Force member, mourned his fatal shooting by deputies during a press conference. The deputies had mistakenly entered Fortson's apartment while responding to a disturbance call and shot him after seeing he was armed.
"My baby was shot up," said Chantimekki Fortson at a news conference on Thursday in Fort Walton Beach, where her son, Senior Airmen Roger Fortson, was living when he was killed.
The attorney Ben Crump, representing Fortson's family, labeled the incident as an "unjustifiable killing" and criticized the deputies for claiming self-defense.
"For whatever reason, they thought he was a bad guy, but he was a good guy. He was a great guy. He was an exceptional guy," Crump said. "They took a patriot from us."
The sheriff's office has yet to disclose the identities or races of the involved deputies, with the shooting under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the local State Attorney's Office. Fortson, who had joined the Air Force after high school, was a special missions aviator in the 4th Special Operations Squadron. He was alone during the incident, armed with a legally owned gun, and on a video call with a friend when the deputies arrived.
This case is particularly poignant given recent instances of fatal shootings involving Black individuals at home by police under questionable circumstances. This includes Botham Jean and Atatiana Jefferson, both of whom were killed by officers who responded incorrectly or excessively to non-threatening situations. Fortson's death adds to the ongoing discourse on racial injustices and police conduct.
The tragic death of Senior Airman Roger Fortson, shot by deputies who mistakenly entered his apartment, is a painful reminder of the dire consequences of police missteps and systemic racial biases. As we mourn another life unjustly taken, we must not grow complacent or desensitized to these recurrent injustices.
We will continue to follow this story for more as our thoughts are with the Fortson family.
Link: ABCNews
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