Editing Okaloosa County, Florida (section)

==Law enforcement==

In November 2023 in [[Fort Walton Beach]], Okaloosa County Sheriff's deputy Jesse Hernandez and sergeant Beth Roberts shot multiple times at Hernandez's police car, where a handcuffed and unarmed black suspect had been placed there by police, according to investigators. The suspect was not injured by the shootings. Hernandez in December 2023 resigned from the department. In February 2024, it was announced that an internal investigation by the Okaloosa County Sheriff's office concluded that Hernandez began shooting after hearing the sound of an [[acorn]] bouncing off his police car, then Roberts began shooting after hearing Hernandez shooting and screaming, with Hernandez at one point shouting: "I'm hit! I'm hit!". Hernandez had told investigators that he thought he heard a gunshot from a "suppressed weapon" and believed that he had been shot: "I felt an impact on my right side, like upper torso area … I feel the impact. My legs just give out." The Sheriff's Office's stated that while Roberts' shooting was reasonable, Hernandez's shooting was "not objectively reasonable", but "we do believe [Hernandez] felt his life was in immediate peril".<ref>{{cite news |title=Florida deputy mistakes falling acorn for gunshot, fires into patrol car with Black man inside |url=https://apnews.com/article/florida-deputy-resigns-acorn-shooting-dc574fd2cd182fadf6a238d8b1b2b4f6 |access-date=May 11, 2024 |work=[[Associated Press]] |date=February 17, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Brasch |first1=Ben |title=Deputy scared by an acorn hitting his cruiser opens fire in street |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/02/14/acorn-florida-police-shoot-unarmed/ |access-date=May 11, 2024 |work=[[The Washington Post]] |date=February 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240216040015/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/02/14/acorn-florida-police-shoot-unarmed/ |archive-date=February 16, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Itoh |first1=Katherine |title=Video shows Florida deputy repeatedly shoot at man after thinking falling acorn was gunfire |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/video-shows-florida-deputy-repeatedly-shoot-man-thinking-falling-acorn-rcna138829 |access-date=May 11, 2024 |work=[[NBC News]] |date=February 15, 2024}}</ref>

In May 2024, an Okaloosa County Sheriff's deputy [[Killing of Roger Fortson|fatally shot Roger Fortson]], a United States Air Force member, in Fortson's home in Fort Walton Beach.<ref name=Body1>{{cite news |last1=Novelly |first1=Thomas |title=Florida Airman Was Shot by Deputy Within Seconds of Opening Apartment Door, Body Cam Footage Shows |url=https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/05/09/body-cam-footage-deputy-fatally-shot-florida-airman-within-seconds-of-him-opening-apartment-door.html |access-date=May 9, 2024 |work=[[military.com]] |date=May 9, 2024}}</ref> According to body camera footage, when the deputy visited an apartment, Fortson opened the apartment door holding a gun in his right hand, with the gun held by his side and pointed downwards.<ref name="Body1" /><ref name=Body2>{{cite news |last1=Medina |first1=Eduardo |title=Sheriff Releases Body Camera Footage in Police Killing of Airman in His Home |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/09/us/roger-fortson-police-shooting-florida.html |access-date=May 10, 2024 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240510002945/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/09/us/roger-fortson-police-shooting-florida.html |archive-date=May 10, 2024}}</ref> As the door opened, the deputy told Fortson to "step back" and immediately shot Fortson.<ref name="Body1" /><ref name="Body2" /><ref name="Body5">{{cite news |last1=Yousif |first1=Nadine |title=US airman shot and killed by police in Florida |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68979577 |access-date=May 10, 2024 |work=BBC News |date=May 9, 2024}}</ref> Fortson falls to the floor, and it is only then that the deputy tells Fortson: "Drop the gun!"<ref name="Body1" /><ref name="Body2" />

Later in May 2024, a Florida woman sued the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office, claiming that on two occasions, once in August 2019 and once in May 2020, they forced her to leave her home while she remained naked during the execution of search warrants, exposing her to law enforcement officers and the public.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Griffith |first1=Janelle |title=Woman sues Florida sheriff alleging she was twice forced out of her home naked as deputies executed warrants |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/woman-sues-florida-sheriff-alleging-was-twice-forced-home-naked-deputi-rcna154353 |access-date=May 29, 2024 |work=[[NBC News]] |date=May 29, 2024}}</ref>