US Airman Roger Fortson, killed by deputy in his own home, honored at funeral

Family and friends of Senior Airman Roger Fortson, along with dozens of Air Force members, came together Friday to honor the serviceman, who was shot and killed in his Florida home by a sheriff’s deputy on May 3.

Roger Fortson celebration of life

Fortson, 23, was in his home in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, when he was shot six times by an Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office deputy, according to law enforcement authorities.

At Friday’s celebration of life at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, Fortson was laid out wearing his Air Force uniform. His coffin was draped with the American flag.

After the service, airmen saluted as Fortson’s casket was carried to a beautiful horse carriage and led away.

Wonderful human being

At the funeral, speakers spoke about how Fortson transformed himself. He went from a fun-loving teenager into a young man with a sense of purpose.

“He was one of our gifted students,” said Fortson’s former principal, Loukisha Walker, of Ronald E. McNair High School.

Fortson was “a man of honor, a man of integrity, a man of courage,” said Col. Patrick Dierig, commander of the First Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Fla., speaking at the funeral.

Tragic incident

On May 3, police responded to a call of a disturbance around 4:30 p.m., according to a released statement from the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.

Fortson was shot six times by the deputy

Sheriff Eric Aden of the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office played the body camera footage of the deputy who shot Fortson in a press conference last week.

In the video, the deputy can be heard announcing twice that he is with the sheriff’s office. Fortson allegedly opens the door for the deputy with what appears to be a gun in his hand. The officer shot Fortson six times within seconds of the door opening. Fortson later succumbed to his injuries.

“Hearing sounds of a disturbance, he reacted in self-defense after he encountered a 23-year-old man armed with a gun,” according to a sheriff’s office statement. “This was after the deputy had identified himself as law enforcement.”

The deputy involved has been put on administrative leave.

There is an ongoing investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the state attorney’s office, according to the sheriff’s office.

Watch US Airman Roger Fortson’s celebration of life