{"id":39964,"date":"2024-05-17T18:45:32","date_gmt":"2024-05-17T18:45:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/05\/17\/hundreds-pack-funeral-for-slain-airman-roger-fortson\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:22:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:22:42","slug":"hundreds-pack-funeral-for-slain-airman-roger-fortson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2024\/05\/17\/hundreds-pack-funeral-for-slain-airman-roger-fortson\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds pack funeral for slain airman Roger Fortson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">STONECREST, Ga. \u2014 Hundreds of Air Force members in dress blues joined Roger Fortson\u2019s family, friends and others at a suburban Atlanta megachurch on Friday to pay their final respects to the Black senior airman, who was shot and killed in his Florida home earlier this month by a sheriff\u2019s deputy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">People lined up well before the start of the service at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest to file past the open coffin and say their goodbyes to Fortson, who was shot six times by a deputy responding to a May 3 call about a possible domestic violence situation at Fortson\u2019s apartment complex in the Florida Panhandle. He was 23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"682\" height=\"485\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2024-05-07-at-1.09.11-PM.png.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-72086\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2024-05-07-at-1.09.11-PM.png.png 682w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2024-05-07-at-1.09.11-PM.png.png?resize=300,213 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Senior Airman Roger Fortson was shot and killed by a Florida sheriff&#8217;s deputy May 3, 2024, at his off-base residence near Hurlburt Field, Florida. (Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fortson\u2019s face and upper body were visible in his Air Force uniform, with an American flag draped over the lower half of the coffin. After viewing the body, many mourners paused to hug one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs you can see from the sea of Air Force blue, I am not alone in my admiration of Senior Airman Fortson,\u201d Col. Patrick Dierig told mourners, referring to the rows of airmen who took up nearly an entire section of the sprawling church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe would like to take credit for making him great, but the truth is that he was great before he came to us,\u201d said Dierig, who commands the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Air Force Base in Florida, where Fortson was stationed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Rev. Jamal Bryant opened his eulogy with a story about how civil rights icon Medgar Evers joined the Army during World War II even though he and other Black American service members were fighting for freedoms abroad that they didn\u2019t enjoy at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 1963&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/myrlie-evers-williams-civil-rights-mississippi-c7edb1a3a00657a5e19764fcbb176b53\">killing of Evers<\/a>, a Mississippi NAACP leader who was gunned down by a white supremacist, \u201cshowed all of America that you can wear a uniform and the uniform won\u2019t protect you, that regrettably sometimes the skin you wear is more of a magnet to opposition than the uniform that you bear,\u201d Bryant said. \u201cBecause in America, before people see you as a veteran, as an airman in the United States Air Force, they\u2019ll see you as a Black man.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bryant also called for justice in Fortson\u2019s killing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019ve got to call it what it is: It was murder,\u201d Bryant said. \u201cHe died of stone cold murder. And somebody has got to be held accountable. Roger was better to America than America was to Roger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4705\" height=\"3137\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24138549249042.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-72428\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24138549249042.jpg.jpg 4705w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24138549249042.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24138549249042.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24138549249042.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24138549249042.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24138549249042.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4705px) 100vw, 4705px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. Air Force personnel mourn slain airman Roger Fortson during his funeral at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, May 17, 2024, near Atlanta. (Brynn Anderson\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Fortson family\u2019s lawyer, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, delivered a rousing address, telling the gathering: \u201cWe will remember him for the American patriot he was.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe was the best from East Atlanta. &#8230; He was the best from the state of Georgia. He was the best from America. He was one of the best this world had to offer,\u201d Crump said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a recorded video played at the service, the Rev. Al Sharpton also highlighted Fortson\u2019s military service and called for his death to not go unpunished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe as a young Black man stood up, signed up to fight for this country. The question now is will the country stand up and fight for him? &#8230; That is the question and that is what we intend to get an answer to,\u201d Sharpton said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the service, airmen saluted and Fortson\u2019s mother embraced mourners outside the church as his casket was carried to a horse-drawn carriage and led away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Thursday, Fortson\u2019s mother&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/airman-shot-florida-deputy-roger-fortson-0de65f5b5011ca98c447de5a78090ee9\">vowed to get justice<\/a>&nbsp;for her son, who had&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/florida-deputy-shooting-airman-834fce6cf0e02f3e2d6b169f628a4c0a\">served in overseas combat zones<\/a>. At a news conference held by the family and Crump, Meka Fortson spoke glowingly about how her son had always stayed on a positive path and had never been in trouble or shown signs of violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She also had a message for Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden: \u201cYou\u2019re going to give me justice whether you want to, Sheriff Aden, or not,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the day he was killed, Fortson opened the door while holding a handgun pointed toward the floor, according to the deputy\u2019s body camera footage. The deputy shouted, \u201cStep back!\u201d and then&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/florida-deputies-black-airman-killed-c747bffae2690dd8fa0908f4b95821b6\">shot Fortson six times<\/a>. Only afterward did he shout, \u201cDrop the gun! Drop the gun!\u201d The deputy then called paramedics on his radio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fortson\u2019s family and Crump argue that the shooting was completely unjustified and that the deputy had gone to the wrong apartment while responding to a call about a possible domestic disturbance in progress at the apartment complex. Fortson was home alone and talking to his girlfriend on FaceTime when he grabbed his gun because he heard someone outside his unit, Crump has said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The deputy, whose name has not been released, shot Fortson within moments of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/roger-fortson-stand-your-ground-race-florida-2c6a585f3fa5b2bd21179b84ff258b1d\">the airman responding to the deputy\u2019s knocking<\/a>&nbsp;and opening his door. Sheriff\u2019s officials say the deputy acted in self-defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two weeks after the shooting, the sheriff has yet to release an incident report, any 911 records or the officer\u2019s identity, despite requests for the information under Florida\u2019s open records act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The case is among many around the country in which Black people have been&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/police-shootings-home-roger-fortson-death-6e8db776663b684d878917e6b7ea4e57\">shot in their homes<\/a>&nbsp;by law enforcement personnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating and the deputy has been placed on administrative leave.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cAs you can see from the sea of Air Force blue, I am not alone in my admiration of Senior Airman Fortson,\u201d Col. Patrick Dierig told mourners Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":72422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":67,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news","home"],"primary_category":"your-military"}}},"categories":[101,24,16,26,67],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3132,2202],"class_list":["post-39964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-air-force"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"WZFTSFEXB5HZDAPE4SGB3FSLEQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-air-force\/2024\/05\/17\/hundreds-pack-funeral-for-slain-airman-roger-fortson\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Hundreds pack funeral for slain airman Roger Fortson - Air Force TImes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cAs you can see from the sea of Air Force blue, I am not alone in my admiration of Senior Airman Fortson,\u201d Col. 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