By Jessica Schladebeck\Daily News
Photos: YouTube Screenshots
A Black U.S. Air Force airman was fatally shot in his home by Florida deputies, who mistakenly burst into the wrong apartment while responding to a disturbance call, according to his family’s attorney.
Senior Airman Roger Fortson, who was based at the Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, was in his off-base apartment in Fort Walton Beach when he was gunned down by law enforcement officers on Friday. He was on a Facetime call at the time with an unnamed woman, civil rights attorney Ben Crump said in a statement on Wednesday.
Citing her account of the confrontation, Crump said 23-year-old Fortson was alone in his apartment when he heard a knock at his door, prompting him to call out and ask who was there. He received no answer, though there was another louder, more forceful knock a short time later. This time, Fortson checked the peep hole, but he did not see anyone on the other side, the unidentified woman recalled. Still, he was worried, so he went to retrieve his gun, which he legally owned, according to Crump.
As Fortson returned, deputies busted into his apartment, saw he was armed and shot him six times, according to Crump’s statement. READ MORE…
