Airman from Atlanta shot by deputy adored little sister, aimed to buy mom a house, family says – WABE

Just two days before a Florida sheriff’s deputy fatally shot him, U.S. Air Force airman Roger Fortson called home to find out what his 10-year-old sister wanted for her birthday.

It was a typical gesture from the 23-year-old from Atlanta, who adored the girl and was dedicated to helping her, her younger brother and her mother thrive, her family said.

“He was trying to give me everything I could never have gotten for myself,” his mother, Chantemekki Fortson, said Thursday at a news conference in Fort Walton Beach, where her son lived when he was killed.

He was her “gift,” she said, the man who taught her to love and forgive and who served as her colleague and advisor.

An Okaloosa County sheriff’s deputy fatally shot Fortson on May 3. Sheriff’s officials say he acted in self-defense while responding to a call about a disturbance in progress at the apartment complex. But civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the Fortson family, accused the deputy of going to the wrong apartment and said the shooting was unjustified.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating.

At Thursday’s news conference, Chantemekki Fortson held a large framed portrait of his son in uniform. He joined the Air Force in 2019, the same year he graduated from Ronald McNair, a predominantly black high school located in DeKalb County in metro Atlanta where about half of the students n don’t graduate in four years.

Serving in the Air Force was a lifelong dream, and Fortson rose to the rank of senior airman. He was stationed at Hurlburt Field near Fort Walton Beach.

“Where we come from, we don’t get to where Roger ended up,” his mother said.

Fortson, a gunner aboard the AC-130J, earned an Air Medal with Combat Device, which is typically awarded after 20 flights in a combat zone or for conspicuous bravery or achievement during a only mission. An Air Force official said Fortson’s award reflected both: flying in a combat zone and taking specific actions during one of the missions to respond to an in-flight emergency and enable the mission to continue. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to provide additional details that had not been made public.

But his service, like almost everything he did, had a larger purpose.

“He was trying to help his family have a better life,” Crump said Thursday.

That meant serving as a role model for her 16-year-old brother, her mother said, saving up to try to buy him a house and getting him a new car. His nickname was “Mr. Make It Happen.”

Chantemekki Fortson recalled that her son, then in high school, accompanied her in an ambulance to the hospital as she gave birth to her daughter and tried to explain to the doctor how to give birth.

The girl and her brother were still in his thoughts. Fortson was assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron as a Special Missions Airman, where one of his roles was to load the gunship’s 30mm and 105mm cannons.

Chantemekki Fortson said his son was injured while loading a plane and was in so much pain he thought he was going to die. But he told his mother that he had to fight for his brother and sister.

He was also by her side when she had an accident shortly after and had to go to the emergency room.

“That’s the kind of gift he was,” she said. “They took something that can never be replaced.”

Thanawala reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writer Tara Copp in Washington contributed.