Mother seeks accountability for U.S. Airman Roger Fortson shot by Fla. deputy

Body

Chantimekki Fortson, the mother of U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson, said she wants the public to keep her son’s name from fading even though the encounter that killed him took place nearly two years ago. Speaking Tuesday in Florida, she said she is still seeking accountability and answers as legal proceedings continue.

At the news conference, civil rights attorney Ben Crump said it was Chantimekki Fortson’s decision to brief reporters. Crump said the family does not want to argue facts or comment on the ongoing case, adding that the delay has a “human cost” for families left to grieve while waiting for answers.

Crump said the family’s goal is accountability tied to prevention—specifically, understanding what could have stopped the outcome and how to reduce the risk that another family endures a similar death. He also said she remains “deeply hurt and concerned” that time has allowed her son’s life to slip from public view.

Chantimekki Fortson said she continues to have questions about the circumstances surrounding the shooting. “I need to know what happened to my baby,” she said, and she added that she doesn’t believe she will ever learn “how to live life without Roger.”

The shooting happened in May 2024, when Fortson, 23, was killed by a deputy responding to a disturbance call at his apartment in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, where he lived while based at nearby Hurlburt Field. A body camera captured the May 2024 encounter, according to the account presented Tuesday.

Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden fired Deputy Eddie Duran, 38, after Fortson was fatally shot. The deputy was directed to Fortson’s apartment while responding to a domestic violence call, the briefing said.

In the criminal case, prosecutors charged Duran with manslaughter with a firearm, a first-degree felony that carries a prison term of up to 30 years. The filing represents a rarely seen criminal case against a Florida law officer, and the case remains part of a larger legal fight involving Fortson’s family.

Crump said Fortson’s family is from Georgia, where hundreds of Air Force members in dress blues mourned him at his funeral outside Atlanta. Two Florida attorneys representing Duran did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.