Å©·òµ¼º½

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against a Florida apartment complex where a member of the U.S. Air Force was fatally shot by a sheriff’s deputy. The judge said the unnamed apartment employee who called police was not acting negligently or punitively, despite the fact that the airman was not involved in a domestic disturbance.

“… Dragging the apartment complex (and Ms. Doe) into this lawsuit contravenes the public policy underlying the reporting privilege and sends the wrong message to the public,” U.S. District Judge Kent Wetherell wrote in his order Monday. “It also undermines public safety because if ‘see something, say something’ becomes ‘see something, say something, get sued,’ concerned citizens will be discouraged from reporting potential criminal activity or public safety issues to law enforcement.”

Airman Roger Fortson, 23, from Atlanta, was shot and killed May 3, 2024, at his own apartment in Fort Walton Beach, near Eglin Air Force Base and Hurlburt Field in the Florida Panhandle. Another tenant had told management at the Chaz Elan apartment complex about an argument that sounded like it was becoming physical. An employee of the apartments, whose name was never released by law enforcement or the complex, then called the sheriff’s non-emergency number to report the disturbance.

It turned out that Fortson was alone in his apartment but was on a Facetime call with his girlfriend, the court explained. A deputy sheriff banged on the door. When Fortson opened the door, with his own sidearm pointed down, the deputy shot the young man five times, causing his death, according to court documents and news reports.

Fortson’s family, represented by famed civil rights and plaintiffs’ attorney Ben Crump as well as a Pensacola law firm, argued in the lawsuit that the apartment employee, referred to as Ms. Doe, negligently escalated the urgency and had no direct knowledge of an alleged disturbance. On a social media post, Fortson’s mom had suggested that the airman had been targeted and that the apartment employee and others were seen laughing about the incident after the shooting, according to court documents.

But the judge said that Florida law gives qualified privilege to people reporting suspected criminal activity to law enforcement.

“The claims against Chez Elan (apartments) are borderline frivolous because the complaint and its attachments establish that Ms. Doe did precisely what any concerned citizen should do under these circumstances: She called law enforcement, provided the information she had, and then let law enforcement investigate,” Judge Wetherell wrote. “From that point forward, whatever happened is on law enforcement, not Ms. Doe—or the apartment complex.”

The Fortson wrongful death lawsuit had also named the sheriff and the deputy, but those claims were not dismissed by the judge. Criminal charges have been filed against the deputy, who was fired after the shooting.

The insurer for the Chaz Elan property was not named in the court filings. The complex was represented by attorneys with Cole, Scott and Kissane, a large Florida law firm known for its insurance defense work.

Photo: Chantemekki Fortson holds a photo of her son during a news conference in 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Topics Lawsuits Florida Legislation