Current:Home > ContactAirman shot by deputy doted on little sister and aimed to buy mom a house, family says -ValueCore
Airman shot by deputy doted on little sister and aimed to buy mom a house, family says
View
Date:2025-04-15 16:45:21
FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Just two days before a sheriff’s deputy in Florida shot him dead, U.S. Air Force airman Roger Fortson called home to find out what his 10-year-old sister wanted for her birthday.
It was a typical gesture for the 23-year-old from Atlanta, who doted on the girl and was devoted to helping her, a younger brother and his mom prosper, his family says.
“He was trying to give me everything that I never could get for myself,” his mother, Chantemekki Fortson, said Thursday at a news conference in Fort Walton Beach, where her son was living when he was killed.
He was her “gift,” she said, the man who taught her to love and forgive and served as her co-worker and counselor.
An Okaloosa County sheriff’s deputy shot Fortson on May 3. Sheriff’s officials say he acted in self-defense while responding to a call of a disturbance in progress at the apartment complex. But civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Fortson family, has accused the deputy of going to the wrong apartment and said the shooting was unjustified.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating.
At Thursday’s news conference, Chantemekki Fortson held a large framed portrait of her son in dress uniform. He joined the Air Force in 2019, the same year he graduated from Ronald McNair — a majority Black high school in metro Atlanta’s DeKalb County where roughly half of students don’t graduate in four years.
Air Force service was a lifelong dream, and Fortson rose to the rank of senior airman. He was stationed at Hurlburt Field near Fort Walton Beach.
“Where we come from, we don’t end up where Roger ended up,” his mother said.
Fortson, a gunner aboard the AC-130J, earned an Air Medal with combat device, which is typically awarded after 20 flights in a combat zone or for conspicuous valor or achievement on a single mission. An Air Force official said Fortson’s award reflected both — completing flights in a combat zone and taking specific actions during one of the missions to address an in-flight emergency and allow the mission to continue. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide additional details that had not been made public.
But his service, like almost everything else he did, had a larger purpose.
“He was trying to help his family have a better life,” Crump said Thursday.
That meant serving as a role model for his 16-year-old brother, his mom said, saving up to try to buy her a house, and getting her a new car. His nickname was “Mr. Make It Happen.”
Chantemekki Fortson recalled that her son, then in high school, accompanied her in an ambulance to the hospital when she was giving birth to her daughter and tried to tell the doctor how to deliver the baby.
The girl and his brother were always in his thoughts. Fortson was assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron as a special missions aviator, where one of his roles was to load the gunship’s 30mm and 105mm cannons.
Chantemekki Fortson said her son was injured while loading a plane and was in such severe pain he thought he would die. But he told his mom he had to push through for his brother and sister.
He was also by her side when she got into an accident a short time later and needed to go the emergency room.
“That’s the kind of gift he was,” she said. “They took something that can never be replaced.”
___
Thanawala reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writer Tara Copp in Washington contributed to this report.
veryGood! (269)
Related
- 'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
- Belarus targets opposition activists with raids and property seizures
- Jessica Biel Defends Bathing in 20 Lbs of Epsom Salt Ahead of 2024 Met Gala
- Will banks, post offices, UPS and FedEx be open on Memorial Day 2024? Here's what to know
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- Kim’s sister denies North Korea has supplied weapons to Russia
- Key Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems is laying off 450 after production of troubled 737s slows
- Biden marks Brown v. Board of Education anniversary amid signs of erosion in Black voter support
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- Tom McMillen, head of the FBS athletic directors’ organization LEAD1, announces he’s stepping down
Ranking
- Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
- Indiana judge opens door for new eatery, finding `tacos and burritos are Mexican-style sandwiches’
- Poland puts judge who defected to Belarus on wanted list, opening way to international warrant
- Brothers accused of masterminding 12-second scheme to steal $25M in cryptocurrency
- Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
- Arkansas Supreme Court upholds 2021 voting restrictions that state judge found unconstitutional
- Atlanta officer charged with killing his Lyft driver
- Arkansas Supreme Court upholds 2021 voting restrictions that state judge found unconstitutional
Recommendation
Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
Actor Angie Harmon sues Instacart and its delivery driver for fatally shooting her dog
Trump appeals gag order in New York “hush money” trial
The latest hot spot for illegal border crossings is San Diego. But routes change quickly
Tarte Shape Tape Concealer Sells Once Every 4 Seconds: Get 50% Off Before It's Gone
Turkey sentences pro-Kurdish politicians to lengthy prison terms over deadly 2014 riots
Transgender girl faces discrimination from a Mississippi school’s dress code, ACLU says
Miss Hawaii Savannah Gankiewicz takes Miss USA crown after Noelia Voigt resignation