“Body Cam Exposes!” Florida Deputy’s Body Camera Shows Controversial Killing of Armed Black Man

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. – A Florida sheriff revealed body camera footage Thursday showing a cop standing outside an apartment door and fired instantly when it was opened by a Black man with a weapon pointing downward, a killing the family condemned as “unjustifiable.”

Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden showed the footage hours after the family of U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson and his attorneys held a news conference disputing the deputy’s claim of self-defense. Aden denied allegations made by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Fortson’s family, that the constable went to the incorrect flat, blocked the door’s peephole, and failed to announce himself.

The footage shows the constable arriving at a Fort Walton Beach apartment building on May 3 and interacting with a woman outside who reported hearing an argument. The constable then took a lift and walked down an outdoor corridor. The footage shows the constable hammering on the door and then walking away, ostensibly out of view of the door. He shouted twice: “Sheriff’s office! “Open the door.”

Fortson opened the door and was spotted holding what seemed to be a firearm pointed down at the floor. The constable shouted, “Step back!” and fired several shots. He then cried, “Drop the gun!” “Drop the gun!”

“It’s over there,” Fortson explained.

“Drop the gun!” the constable responded.

“I don’t have it,” Fortson replied, lying on the ground.

The constable then summoned paramedics using his radio.

The sheriff’s office has declined to identify the responding constable or his race. The constable has been placed on administrative leave awaiting an inquiry. Crump then issued a statement claiming that the officer did not instruct Fortson to lower his gun before shooting “multiple times within a split second of the door being opened.”

“We remain adamant that the police had the wrong flat as Roger was on the phone with his girlfriend for a substantial amount of time leading up to the shooting, and no one else was in the flat,” the statement continued.

Crump previously told reporters that Fortson was talking to his fiancée on FaceTime when he grabbed his revolver after hearing someone outside his apartment. He claimed that the constable broke into the residence, citing the girlfriend’s testimony, which has not yet been identified.

“The girlfriend acknowledges that even though she initially assumed the door was forced open by the police she stands by her emotional account of what transpired,” Crump’s later statement added. In a FaceTime video recorded by Fortson’s mobile, the airman can be heard gasping and stating, “I can’t breathe.” A constable can be heard shouting back at him, “Stop moving!” The phone is pointing at the ceiling and does not show what is going on inside the flat.

Aden said he met with the family on Thursday and offered his heartfelt sympathies.

“This result is one we never hope to encounter,” Aden stated. “These investigations take time, but I want to assure you that we are not hiding or attempting to cover anything up.” Officials have stated that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is conducting an investigation. FDLE spokesperson Gretl Plessinger told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the agency is unlikely to make any further comments until the inquiry is completed.

The sheriff stated that the inquiry was being conducted as a criminal matter and that no decision had been made as to whether the deputy’s actions were lawful or not. However, the sheriff’s office’s initial news release about the incident stated that the deputy “reacted in self-defense after he encountered a 23-year-old man armed with a gun.”

Fortson’s mother, Chantemekki Fortson, entered the morning news conference beside Crump, holding a framed portrait of her son in his dress uniform. She fell into tears as Crump discussed her son’s death.

“My baby was shot up,” she explained.

Crump described the shooting as “an unjustifiable killing.”

“For whatever reason, they assumed he was a bad guy, but he was a good guy.” He was a fantastic person. “He was an exceptional guy,” Crump stated. “They took a patriot from us.”

Crump stated that Fortson, who is originally from Atlanta, was shot six times.

According to Crump, Fortson enlisted in the Air Force after graduating from high school. He was assigned to Hurlburt Field’s Special Operations Wing. As a special missions aviator, one of his responsibilities was to load the gunship’s weapons during missions.

Crump, based in Tallahassee, Florida, has been involved in a number of high-profile cases involving Black people killed by law enforcement and vigilantes, including Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, Tyre Nichols, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor, who was killed in her home during a no-knock police raid targeting her ex-boyfriend in 2020.

Fortson’s death is strikingly similar to other Black folks killed by police in their homes in recent years.

In 2018, a white Dallas police officer fatally shot Botham Jean, who was unarmed, after mistaking his flat for hers. The former officer, Amber Guyger, was convicted of murder and sentenced to ten years in prison.

In 2019, a white Fort Worth, Texas, officer fatally shot Atatiana Jefferson through the rear window of her home after responding to a non-emergency call reporting Jefferson’s front door open. The former cop, Aaron Dean, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to nearly 12 years in jail.

Crump represented families in both cases as part of his efforts to hold police accountable for killing Black individuals.