US pilot shot dead by police in Florida

A U.S. Air Force member was fatally shot by police officers who entered an incorrect address, a lawyer for his family says.

Senior Airman Roger Fortson, 23 and black, died after a sheriff’s deputy shot him while responding to a disturbance call.

Police previously said the deputy responded in self-defense after seeing Fortson armed with a gun.

Citing a witness, the lawyer claims that the police entered the wrong apartment. He calls for a comprehensive investigation.

The airman was shot May 3 at his home, which is 5 miles (8 km) from the Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida, where he is stationed.

Fortson was taken to a hospital where he died, officials said.

According to a statement from Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden on Tuesday, the officer who shot him – whom police are not naming – has since been placed on administrative leave.

The incident is currently being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the State Attorney’s Office, Sheriff Aden added.

“At this time, we humbly ask our community for patience as we work to understand the facts that led to this tragic event,” he said.

The Fortson family’s lawyer, Ben Crump, called on the police to be transparent about what happened.

“Roger Fortson was the best America had to offer. He was a patriot. He was a US airman, special forces. He fought for our way of life. He fought for everyone,” Crump said at a news conference Thursday. “They took away a patriot from us.”

His mother, Chantimekki Fortson, burst into tears as Mr. Crump recounted the moments before the airman was shot.

“My baby was my everything,” she said.

Mr. Crump said Fortson was on a video call with a friend at the time of the shooting, who described what she had heard to his family’s legal team.

The friend said the airman heard a knock on his apartment door and asked who was there, but received no answer. He then heard a second, “very aggressive knock,” but saw no one when he looked through the peephole.

At that point, Fortson reportedly became concerned and retrieved his gun, which the attorney said was legally owned.

When Fortson returned to his living room, the witness said police burst through the door, saw the resident was armed and shot him six times.

Mr Crump said the witness believed the officers had been at the wrong apartment because Fortson was alone at the time and there had been no disturbance at his apartment.

In a statement released May 4, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said the deputy “responded in self-defense after encountering a 23-year-old male armed with a weapon and after the deputy identified himself as a law enforcement officer had.”

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Crump accused police of trying to “justify unwarranted excessive use of force.”

Mr. Crump noted that private gun ownership is permitted in the state of Florida.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office has not responded to Mr. Crump’s comments.

According to the US Air Force, Fortson was assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron and entered active duty in November 2019.

According to Mr. Crump, he enlisted in the military after graduating with honors from high school in Atlanta, Georgia.

Mr. Crump, a Florida-based civil rights attorney, has worked on several high-profile cases of police-inflicted deaths of black men, including George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, Tire Nichols and Breonna Taylor.