A deputy-involved shooting in Okaloosa County has left a 23-year-old man dead after the deputy responded to a disturbance call at an apartment off Racetrack Road in Fort Walton Beach late Friday afternoon.
U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson was identified by the 1st Special Operations Wing Public Affairs on Monday afternoon. Fortson was assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron. He entered active duty on Nov. 19, 2019.
According to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, the deputy arrived at 319 Racetrack Road around 4:30 p.m. in response to a report of a disturbance in progress.
Upon hearing sounds of a disturbance, the deputy encountered the reportedly armed man and identified himself as law enforcement. The deputy then reacted in self-defense during the confrontation, according to the report from the Sheriff’s Office.
- Fortson was transported to a nearby hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries sustained in the shooting. No deputies were reported injured in the incident.
As per standard protocol, the deputy involved in the shooting has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of a formal investigation and administrative review by the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident remains under investigation, and no further details have been released at this time.
2 Responses
If they are committed to transparency, then the deputy should be transparent and admit that Airman is dead because of he was fearful. He had time to tell the Airman to put the gun down before shooting him. That’s the transparency I’m looking for. This deputy killed property of DoD, he must be held accountable.
How are we ever supposed to open the door for police if that shooting is justified? People are allowed to possess guns. The gun was not in an aggressive position. The officer badly over reacted. That is not self defense. That is killing an innocent person that had no chance to respond to the officer.