S1 E1: NO SAFE SPACE | AIRMAN ANSWERS THE DOOR: CASE of ROGER FORTSON
This inaugural episode we honor and focus on the life and tragedy of death of U.S. Air Force Senior Airman, Roger Fortson. On this show, we lead with the story and facts, then pull the necessary threads and examine the elements. What can this tragedy teach us? How do these cases occur? And how can we learn from them to honor those lost?
On May 3, 2024, Roger Fortson, a 23-year-old U.S. Air Force senior airman, was fatally shot by Okaloosa County sheriff’s deputy Eddie Duran, in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Responding to a false domestic disturbance report, Duran arrived at Fortson’s apartment while Fortson was on a FaceTime call with his girlfriend. Within seconds, Duran fired six shots, striking Fortson multiple times. Duran was placed on administrative leave, then subsequently fired after bodycam footage of the incident was released. Roger’s family continued to advocate for justice, and Duran was arrested and charged with manslaughter in August 2024. His pretrial hearing is scheduled for April 14, 2025.
This case calls into question and touches elements, in this nation, relating to:
⁃ Self-Defense law and who they apply to and who gets to exercise their rights
⁃ No safe space
⁃ No sanctity of privacy
⁃ Excessive use of force
⁃ Qualified immunity
⁃ 911 fidelity of information
⁃ 2nd amendment gun ownership and who gets protection to exercise their rights
⁃ Parenting children/ young people in America - how marginalized comm. Have to parent to the problem. Despite “freedoms” or “rights” afforded to everyone.
⁃ Bodycam/ transparency and lack of integrity
⁃ Secondary vicarious community trauma
CREDITS:
* CCT Lab Sound: the computer is thinking by solarpsychedelic -- https://freesound.org/s/757105/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
* Writer credit: Elizabeth Atwood
SOURCES:
⁃ Spencer, Terry, & Copp, Tara, What to know about airman Roger Fortson's fatal shooting by a Florida sheriff's deputy, AP News [https://apnews.com/article/airman-shot-florida-deputy-roger-fortson-760057db9fd9c7b2f25e85b1b285e8e3], 2024
⁃ GRAPHIC: Full bodycam footage released of deputy-involved shooting [https://www.wjhg.com/2024/05/09/graphic-full-bodycam-footage-released-deputy-involved-shooting-that-killed-us-airman/]…, WJHG, 2024
⁃ Zhou, Liz, Roger Fortson shooting: What we know about the police,...Vox [http://vox.com/24153974/roger-fortson-police-killing], 2024
⁃ Franklin, Jonathan, Roger Fortson's family demands charges against [https://www.npr.org/2024/08/16/nx-s1-5078551/roger-fortson-family-demands-charges-in-his-death]…, NPR, 2024
⁃ Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office's Facebook Post [https://www.facebook.com/OkaloosaSheriff/posts/pfbid0pCqcbNcCpFrfC2cqGJXpbpKthqP9GjW2895W2UGd47MaBfXpPA6MQwdhPkv3cz4l]
⁃ Roger Fortson: Body of Atlanta airman killed by deputy to be returned [https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/roger-fortson-body-airman-killed-florida-deputy-returned-family], FOX5, 2024
⁃ Griffith, Janelle, Parents of airman killed in his home by sheriff's [https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/parents-airman-killed-home-sheriffs-deputy-worry-wont-charged-rcna159929]…, NBC News, 2024
⁃ Novelly, Thomas, 'They Took My Gift Away': In [https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/05/09/they-took-my-gift-away-interview-mother-of-florida-airman-killed-police-describes-shock.html]
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