The Wrongful Death of Roger Fortson

You have every right to hold a gun defensively when you open your front door

A robust online discussion surrounds the recent shooting of 23 year old Airman Roger Fortson, in the area around Fort Walton, Florida.

Watch the deputy body camera footage here. If the link doesn’t work properly, simply look up “Roger Fortson Body Cam” on YouTube.

I have questions and points to make below:

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Note that the first person to meet the deputy is unaware of the circumstances of the call. The deputy then meets a woman who guides him along. The deputy makes no effort to ascertain her involvement in this issue. There is no clear association between Fortson and that woman. What interest does she have in this case? Is she the manager of the apartment complex? A resident? The deputy makes no effort to find out.

Further:

1) The woman speaking to the deputy is unsure from which apartment a disturbance came, citing an event from two weeks ago. She says, twice, that she is unsure. Then, without explanation, she states "1401."

2) There is no reason to trust the woman's statement; for all the deputy knows, she could have had a personal beef against Fortson, she could be a jealous lover… who knows? Her accusation is unclear and obviously lacks certitude, creating little reason for the deputy to approach the apartment anticipating a violent response from the resident.

3) The deputy aggressively knocked on the door. Why? His deportment was disproportionate, excessively so, as there was no active threat.

4) The deputy stepped OUT OF VIEW for Fortson to see him through the peep hole in the door, which would naturally and reasonably heighten Fortson’s suspicion about whoever is knocking on his door.

5) Criminals can coax victims to open a door by shouting "POLICE!" while knocking. Without seeing the deputy through the peep hole, Fortson had every justification to use care when opening his own door.

6) Fortson had no obligation to open his door; the deputy had no right to demand the door be opened.

7) Fortson has every right to hold a firearm defensively as he opened the door to his own home. The gun was POINTED TO THE FLOOR while Fortson's other hand is raised NON-THREATENINGLY.

8) The deputy began firing immediately when Fortson complied with the demand to open the door. The deputy fired without any true threat after aggressively approaching a door he had no right to demand be opened.

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To the pro-cop, pro-military, pro-gun group, this case should leave you deeply concerned and you should be coming TO THE DEFENSE OF ROGER FORTSON, who followed all your rules about handling guns: when, where, and how.

This case is ripe for escalation by the BLM crowd. Fortson did everything right. And he was shot dead by a deputy who badly mishandled the situation.

I’d not jail the deputy, but he should lose his badge, his right to ever own a firearm, and should be sued for the unlawful killing of Airman Roger Fortson. The county sheriff’s office should be sued as well.

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Defending this shooting is an attack on 2nd Amendment rights, not a defense of those rights, nor a defense of the police.

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Airman Roger Fortson should be alive today.

The responsibility lies with the deputy here, as Fortson was simply alone in his own home, his privacy broken with a loud knock at the door, a tone of aggression just outside his door.

Fortson felt threatened, obviously: he felt the need to grab his gun.

As a member of the service since 2019, Fortson is comfortable speaking with authority figures; he works under gun-carrying people of rank every day of his life.

The deputy discovered no active disputes coming from within the apartment, so why didn’t he just knock on the door? It seems professional and appropriate, and even reasonable and expected, for the deputy to knock, wait for a reply from inside, and say, speaking through the door to the resident…

Sir, I’m with the sheriff’s department and we’ve had a report of a disturbance. Is everything ok? And may we discuss the situation?

Surely Fortson would have opened the door without a sense of imminent danger or threat if he’d been approached this way.

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The deputy created the entire context, he configured the situation that lead to Roger Fortson’s death, and he bears entire and complete responsibility.

The BEC

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