FILE - Candles and framed photos of Roger Fortson, a U.S. Air Force senior airman who was fatally shot by a Fla. sheriff’s deputy on May 3, 2024, sit in the doorway of the apartment where he was killed in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., on Aug. 23. (AP Photo/Kate Payne, File)
FILE - Friends and family of Roger Fortson watch as his casket leaves for the cemetery at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church on May 17, 2024, in Stonecrest, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
Family sues over Florida deputy鈥檚 killing of US Airman Roger Fortson
The family of a U.S. airman who was shot by a Florida sheriff鈥檚 deputy inside his own home sued the deputy, the sheriff and the owner of the airman鈥檚 apartment complex on Tuesday, saying they want to ensure people are held accountable for his 2024 death.
FILE - Candles and framed photos of Roger Fortson, a U.S. Air Force senior airman who was fatally shot by a Fla. sheriff’s deputy on May 3, 2024, sit in the doorway of the apartment where he was killed in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., on Aug. 23. (AP Photo/Kate Payne, File)
The family of a U.S. airman who was shot by a Florida sheriff鈥檚 deputy inside his own home sued the deputy, the sheriff and the owner of the airman鈥檚 apartment complex on Tuesday, saying they want to ensure people are held accountable for his 2024 death.
The complaint alleges that used excessive and unconstitutional deadly force when he shot just seconds after the Black senior airman opened his apartment door in Fort Walton Beach on May 3, 2024. Duran was responding to a domestic disturbance report at Fortson’s apartment that turned out to be false.
鈥淚 want accountability because he was 23. I want accountability because he had a life ahead of him. I want accountability because he was in his own home,鈥 said Fortson鈥檚 mother, Meka Fortson, who wore a shirt emblazoned with an image of her son in his Air Force uniform while appearing with the family鈥檚 attorney, , at a press conference to announce
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The complaint filed in federal court in Pensacola details alleged failures by the Okaloosa County Sheriff鈥檚 Office in training and supervision and claims that staff at the apartment complex where Fortson lived provided misleading information that led to the fatal law enforcement response.
Messages were left seeking comment from attorneys for Duran, a spokesperson for the Okaloosa County Sheriff鈥檚 Office and an agent for the apartment complex鈥檚 management company.
Duran has pleaded not guilty to a charge of in the shooting, which , and occurred against a wider backdrop of increased attention by the military to Duran identifies as Hispanic, according to his voter registration.
The airman’s mother said she has 鈥渘o faith鈥 in Okaloosa County, expressing doubt that Duran will get a 鈥渞eal trial鈥 in the Florida Panhandle community where he worked as a law enforcement officer.
It is highly unusual for Florida law enforcement officers to be charged for an on-duty killing. Convictions in such cases are even rarer.
鈥淭his is not policing. This is an unlawful execution,鈥 said Crump, a civil rights attorney who has been involved in a number of cases involving law enforcement killings of Black people, including those of , , and .
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鈥淲e believe Roger鈥檚 death was a result of a pattern and practice here in Okaloosa County,鈥 added Crump, who announced the lawsuit at a press conference at Greater Peace Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Walton Beach.
Duran came to Fortson鈥檚 door in response to a report of a physical fight inside an apartment. as the location of a loud argument, according to sheriff鈥檚 investigators. Fortson, who was assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, was alone at the time, talking with his girlfriend on a FaceTime video call.
showed .
The deputy pounded at the door repeatedly and yelled, 鈥淪heriff鈥檚 office 鈥 open the door!鈥 Fortson opened the door with his legally purchased gun in his right hand, pointed to the ground.
The deputy said, 鈥淪tep back,鈥 then immediately . Fortson fell backward onto the floor. Only then did the deputy yell, 鈥淒rop the gun!鈥
Deputies had never been called to Fortson鈥檚 apartment before, 911 records show, but they had been called to a nearby unit 10 times in the previous eight months, including once for a domestic disturbance.
Crump defended Fortson鈥檚 right to answer his door with his firearm in hand.
鈥淗e had a right to the Second Amendment too 鈥 to protect his home, to protect his castle,” Crump said. 鈥淗e didn鈥檛 do anything wrong.鈥
___ Associated Press writer Curt Anderson in Tampa contributed to this report. Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
