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A lawyer for the family of a black U.S. Air Force airman says police radio traffic and body camera footage of the Florida sheriff’s deputy who killed him bolsters their claim that the deputy was targeted at the wrong apartment. while responding to a domestic disturbance call the other day.
In a police radio address that attorney Ben Crump played at a news conference surrounded by Roger Fortson’s family, a dispatcher said all they knew about the location of the disturbance was “fourth-party information.”
“Uh, you got nothing but a man and a woman,” the dispatcher told the employees.
“This is all 4th party information from the front desk at the leasing office.”
Crump also highlighted two parts of the body camera video in which the deputy asked the woman who was leading him around the complex, “Which door?” The woman replied, “Um…I’m not sure.”
Seconds later, the woman told the officer she heard a disturbance two weeks ago but “wasn’t sure where it was coming from.”
Fortson, 23, was shot and killed May 3 by an Okaloosa County sheriff’s deputy in his apartment doorway.
Sheriff’s officials say the deputy acted in self-defense while responding to a report of a disturbance at the apartment complex.
Crump and Fortson’s family say the deputy went to the wrong unit and the shooting was unjustified.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating and the deputy involved has been placed on administrative leave.
Nearly two weeks after the shooting, the sheriff’s office has yet to release an incident report, any 911 records or the identity of the officer, despite requests for information under Florida’s open records law.
At the news conference, Fortson’s mother, Mecca Fortson, said she doesn’t remember her son even killing a spider and that he didn’t deserve to be killed.
“I will walk through fire” to get justice, she said.
Her message to Sheriff Eric Aden: “You’re going to give me justice whether you want it Sheriff Aden or not.”
A shrine of sorts has sprung up outside Fortson’s apartment, where people have left combat boots, bouquets of flowers and an American flag, among other things.
The press conference was held at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in the Atlanta suburb of Stonecrest.
It would be followed by a wake in nearby Decatur.
Fortson’s funeral will take place at New Birth on Friday.
Bodycam video of the standoff shows the deputy arriving at a Fort Walton Beach apartment building and speaking with a woman outside who described hearing an argument.
The deputy then took an elevator and walked down an open corridor.
The video shows the deputy banging on the door and backing away, seemingly out of sight of the door.
He yelled twice, “The Sheriff’s Office! Open the door!”
Fortson, who legally owned a firearm, opened the door and found himself holding a gun pointed at the floor.
The deputy yelled, “Back off!” and then shot Fortson six times.
Only then did he shout: “Drop the gun! Drop the gun!”
The deputy then radioed for paramedics.
The case is among many across the country in which black people have been shot in their homes by law enforcement officers.
Crump said earlier that Fortson had been talking to his girlfriend on FaceTime and that he grabbed his gun because he heard someone outside his apartment.
He said the deputy broke into the apartment, citing the account of the girlfriend, whose name was not released.
In a clip from the FaceTime video taken from Fortson’s cell phone, the airman can be heard moaning and saying, “I can’t breathe.”
A deputy can be heard yelling back at him, “Stop moving.”
The phone is pointed at the ceiling and does not show what is happening in the apartment.
Fortson, a senior airman, was stationed at Hurlburt Field near Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
He was a gunner aboard the AC-130J and earned the Air Medal with Combat Device, which is usually awarded after 20 sorties in a combat zone or for conspicuous valor or achievement on a single mission.
Fortson was assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron as a special missions aviator, where one of his roles was to load the battleship’s 30mm and 105mm guns.
His family said he adored his 10-year-old sister and was determined to provide a better life for her and his mother, hoping to eventually buy her a house.
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