Funeral services were held Friday morning for U.S. Senior Airman Roger Fortson, who was fatally shot by a Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Deputy two weeks ago.
The family mourned the 23-year-old in Stonecrest, Georgia. They maintain that Fortson, who was Black, was unjustifiably killed in his home by an officer who the Sheriff’s Office says was in self-defense.
The AP live-streamed the funeral.
Hundreds of Air Force members in their dress blues, along with family and friends, packed into the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, where Fortson’s body lay in an open casket.
With an American flag draped over the coffin, Fortson’s family and friends took the stage to offer their condolences and share testimonies about the young trooper.
Fortson’s sister, Raevyn Wilburn, said while he was younger than her, he was almost a father figure to her—protective, and wise beyond his years.
“I thought Roger was the coolest person in the world,” said Wilburn. “I used to watch him, how he would talk and that smile…I was so proud of my brother.”
“He was so humble but every now and then he would tell you who he was, he would tell you what he did.”
Col. Patrick Dierig, the commander of the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, where Fortson worked, spoke of his commitment to serving his country, and how welcoming he was.
“He [Fortson] has that infectious smile,” he told mourners. “He welcomed me back home without a word spoken and that was Roger…kind, confident, and a smile that could light up the room.”
Others who spoke at the funeral included Reverend Al Sharpton, and civil rights attorney Ben Crump.
Crump is representing Fortson’s family, who say it isn’t true that the deputy who shot Fortson fired in self-defense, as the Okaloosa Sheriff’s Office has claimed.
“We got to say no,” said Crump. “We will not let that lie stand. We will stand on the truth.”
Body cam footage and dispatch audio reveals the Okaloosa deputy – who still hasn’t been named publicly – was responding to a disturbance call from Fortson’s apartment building.
It’s not clear who made the call, and on the dispatch audio, the deputy tells the dispatcher that his information about a disturbance between a “male and a female” came fourth-hand.
Crump and Fortson’s family say that the deputy went to the wrong apartment. The Okaloosa Sheriff’s Office has denied that.
The body cam footage shows Fortson answering the door with a firearm pointing at the ground. Crump says the gun was legally owned by Fortson, and he was in his legal rights to answer the door of his own home holding it. The deputy then shot him multiple times before telling him to drop his weapon.
“Fix his reputation, tell the truth, and give my child justice,” Fortson’s mother, Meka Fortson, vowed on Thursday during an emotional news conference to get justice for her son.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is currently investigating the incident. The Okaloosa Sheriff’s office says it’s reserving judgment on the officer until the investigation is over.
