On Friday, hundreds of Air Force members dressed in blue gathered at a megachurch outside Atlanta with family and friends of Roger Fortson, a black man who was shot and killed by sheriff’s deputies in his Florida home earlier this month. He paid his last respects to a senior airman. .
At New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, people lined up well before the service began, lining up in front of an open casket and responding to a May 3 call about a possible domestic visit. Farewell to Fortson, who was shot six times by a deputy. A violent situation at Fortson’s apartment complex in the Florida Panhandle. He was 23 years old.
Body camera footage shows moment aide shoots and kills Air Force aviator in his home
Fortson’s face and upper body were dressed in an Air Force uniform, and the lower half of his casket was decorated with an American flag. After seeing the body, many mourners stopped and hugged each other.
“I’m not alone in my admiration for Senior Airman Fortson, as you can see in the blue waters of the Air Force,” said Col. Patrick Dierrig, whose line of Airmen took up nearly an entire section of the vast church. He spoke to mourners about his death. .
Chantemek Fortson, mother of fallen Airman Roger Fortson, stands in front of his casket during his funeral at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church near Atlanta on Friday, May 17, 2024. . (AP Photo/Bryn Anderson)
“I want to give him credit for what made him great, but the truth is, before he came to us, he I mean, it was amazing,” he said.
Reverend Jamal Bryant explains how civil rights icon Medgar Evers enlisted in the Army during World War II, even though he was fighting for freedoms abroad that he didn’t enjoy at home. He began his eulogy by talking about what he had done.
The murder of Mississippi NAACP leader Evers, who was shot to death by a white supremacist in 1963, is a reminder that, “It’s okay to wear a uniform, but it doesn’t protect you, and unfortunately, sometimes it doesn’t protect you.” “It showed all of America that the skin you wear can be more dangerous than the uniform you wear,” Bryant said. “Because in America, before people see you as a veteran, before they see you as a U.S. Air Force Airman, they see you as a black person.”
Bryant also called for justice for Fortson’s murder.
“What do you have to call it? It was murder,” Bryant said. “He died in cold-blooded murder, and someone has to be held accountable. Roger was better for America than America was for Roger.”
The Fortson family’s attorney, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, gave an impassioned speech, telling the gathering, “We will never forget him as an American patriot.”
“He was the best man in East Atlanta. … He was the best man in Georgia. He was the best man in America. He was the best man this world had to offer. I was alone,” Crump said.
In a recorded video played at the service, the Rev. Al Sharpton also highlighted Fortson’s military service and asked that his death go unpunished.
“He, a young black man, stood up and signed up to fight for this country. The question now is, will the country stand up and fight for him? … That’s the question, and that’s the question. That’s what we’re trying to get answers to,” Sharpton said.
After the service, airmen saluted and Fortson’s mother hugged mourners outside the church as his casket was carried away in a horse-drawn carriage.
On Thursday, Fortson’s mother vowed to seek justice for her son, who served in a combat zone overseas. At a press conference held by her family and Crump, Meka Fortson said her son has always stayed on a positive path and has never been in trouble or shown any signs of violence. He spoke brilliantly.
She also sent a message to Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aiden: “Sheriff Aiden, you’re going to give me justice whether I want it or not.”
The deputy’s body camera footage shows Fortson opening the door the day he was killed, holding a handgun pointed at the floor. The deputy yelled, “Stand back!” and shot Fortson six times. Only then did he shout, “Throw away the gun! Throw away the gun!” The deputy then called emergency personnel over the radio.
Fortson’s family and Crump say the shooting was completely unwarranted and that the deputy went to the wrong apartment while responding to a call about a possible domestic disturbance at the apartment complex. are doing. Crump said Fortson was home alone on FaceTime with his girlfriend when he heard someone outside the unit and grabbed a gun.
The aide, whose name has not been released, shot and killed Fortson the moment the Air Force officer responded to the aide’s knock on the door. Sheriff’s officials say the deputy acted in self-defense.
Two weeks after the shooting, the sheriff’s office has yet to release the incident report, 911 records or the officer’s identity, despite requests for information under Florida’s Freedom of Records Act.
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This incident is one of many across the country where black people are shot and killed by law enforcement officers in their own homes.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating and the deputy has been placed on administrative leave.
