Florida deputy's killing of Black airman renews debate on police killings and race
A Florida deputy's fatal shooting of a U.S. service member has jarred the former top enlisted officer of the Air Force
WASHINGTON (AP) — In 2020, the top enlisted leader of the Air Force went public with his fear of waking up to the news that a Black airman had been killed by a white police officer.
Then four years later, a Florida deputy shot and killed Senior Airman Roger Fortson in his apartment.
“I doubt if that police officer knew or cared that Roger was an airman. What he saw was a young, Black male,” retired Chief Master Sgt. Kaleth O. Wright said in an interview Wednesday with The Associated Press.
After George Floyd was killed by a white Minneapolis police officer in May 2020, Wright, who like Floyd is Black, felt compelled to speak publicly about the fears that he and his younger troops had. It didn't seem to matter how hard he'd worked to serve his country. There were still police who would only see him as a threat.
