Former Okaloosa County deputy Eddie Duran, 38, was charged in the May 3 shooting death of 23-year-old Roger Fortson, Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille said.
Authorities say that Duran shot him multiple times; only then did he tell Fortson to drop the gun.
On Friday, candles and framed photos of Fortson in uniform graced the doorway of the apartment where he was killed.
It is highly unusual for Florida law enforcement officers to be charged for an on-duty killing — it has only happened four times in the last 35 years before Friday.
A former Palm Beach Gardens officer is serving a 25-year prison sentence for manslaughter and attempted murder for a 2015 shooting.
A Broward sheriff’s deputy was charged with manslaughter for the 2014 fatal shooting of a Black man who was carrying an air rifle he had just purchased.
Florida law requires that an armed guard be on campus when class is in session.
Only then did the deputy yell, “Drop the gun!” Fortson replied, “It’s over there.” The deputy called for paramedics, but Fortson died a short time later at the hospital.
WALTON BEACH, FLA. (AP) — Following a Black U.S. citizen’s death, a Florida sheriff’s deputy was charged with manslaughter with a firearm, initiating a seldom seen criminal case against a Florida law officer. s. A senior Air Force airman was shot and killed when he answered the door to his apartment while pointing a gun downward.
According to Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille, Eddie Duran, a 38-year-old former Okaloosa County deputy, has been charged in connection with the shooting death of 23-year-old Roger Fortson on May 3. Up to 30 years in prison are possible outcomes for this first-degree felony charge.
Although Duran was not in custody as of Friday afternoon, Marcille stated that an arrest warrant had been issued for his arrest.
Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who is representing the airman’s family, stated on Friday, “Let this be a reminder to law enforcement officers everywhere that they swore a solemn oath to protect and defend, and their actions have consequences, especially when it results in the loss of life.”.
The Associated Press was informed by Sabu Williams, the president of the local NAACP branch, that “I think this is the best that we could have hoped for in this particular case.”. “.
In his voter registration form, Duran identified himself as Hispanic, and the charging documents that were made public on Friday corroborate this information.
According to the authorities, Duran was sent to Fortson’s Fort Walton Beach apartment in response to a fictitious report of a domestic disturbance.
Fortson knocked repeatedly until, with his pistol down by his side, he managed to open the door. Duran allegedly shot Fortson multiple times before telling him to put down the gun, according to the authorities.
The doorway of the apartment where Fortson was killed was decorated on Friday with candles and framed pictures of him in uniform.
Duran was fired by Okaloosa Sheriff Eric Aden on May 31 after an internal investigation found that he had not endangered anyone with his gunshots.
When contacted by phone and email for comment, John Whitaker, Duran’s lawyer, did not immediately answer.
Officers in Florida have only been charged four times in the last 35 years for killing someone while they were on duty, making this a very rare occurrence. Only one of those officers has been found guilty even then.
In relation to a shootout with two robbers who had taken over a UPS truck, four Miami-Dade police officers were recently charged with manslaughter. The hijackers were killed in the gunfight, along with the UPS driver and a bystander.
In the Okaloosa County town of Crestview, three police officers are awaiting trial on manslaughter charges related to the death of a man in 2021 who was allegedly shocked to death with a stun gun. These officers entered a not guilty plea.
In 2015, a shooting occurred that resulted in manslaughter and attempted murder for which a former Palm Beach Gardens police officer was sentenced to 25 years in prison. When the Black man’s SUV broke down on an interstate off-ramp, the officer—who was wearing plain clothes and operating undercover—shot and killed him. Before being shot, the man attempted to escape with his licensed handgun, fearing he was being robbed.
After shooting and killing a Black man in 2014 while he was carrying a newly acquired air rifle, a Broward sheriff’s deputy was charged with manslaughter. Later, a judge dismissed that accusation.
The US. s. It is now more difficult to prosecute and convict law enforcement officials for dubious shootings because the Supreme Court granted them “qualified immunity” for their on-duty activities. According to the court, officers will only be found guilty if the evidence demonstrates that their actions were unlawful and that they should have known that they were breaking “clearly established” law.
As a military police officer in the Army, Duran started out in law enforcement. After leaving the military in 2015, he was employed by a police department in Oklahoma. He started working as a sheriff in Okaloosa County in 2019, left the position two years later, and then returned in 2023.
According to Okaloosa staff records, he received a reprimand in 2021 for failing to fulfill his task of visiting the homes of three registered sex offenders to verify their addresses. The following year, he was disciplined for leaving the school before the last bell and the students’ departure after being assigned to a high school as its on-campus deputy. According to Florida law, there must always be an armed guard on campus when classes are in session.
The sheriff’s office said in a statement on Friday that it is standing by the decision to fire Duran and that it has been “fully accountable and transparent” during the entire investigation.
The distance between Hurlburt Field, where Fortson was stationed as a special missions aviator with the 4th Special Operations Squadron aboard an AC-130J Ghostrider gunship, and the apartment complex where he resided is roughly 8 miles (13 kilometers).
On May 3, Duran responded to the call about a domestic disturbance by going to the apartment complex. When Duran arrived at Fortson’s fourth-floor apartment, an apartment manager showed him around and informed him that the deputy’s body camera footage revealed several fights.
Fortson, however, was single, had no visitors that afternoon, and had no criminal record. His girlfriend, with whom he was on a video call, informed investigators that they had not been fighting. Fortson was playing a video game, according to her.
Additionally, according to 911 records, deputies had not previously been called to Fortson’s apartment but had, in the preceding eight months, been called to ten different nearby units, one of which involved a domestic disturbance.
Although Duran’s body camera video shows him standing motionless outside Fortson’s door for twenty seconds and listening, no sounds are audible inside.
After that, he knocked on the door repeatedly without introducing himself. He then shifted to the door’s side, a distance of roughly 5 feet (1.05 meters). His fear was that the person inside might shoot through the door or open it, pushing him over the railing and down to a location approximately 40 feet (12 meters) below. He expressed this fear to the investigators.
He waited for fifteen seconds, then banged on the door once more. He yelled, “Sheriff’s office — open the door!” and shifted to the side once more. The video appears to have a muffled voice, and Duran claimed to hear someone swearing at the police.
In less than ten seconds, Duran repositioned himself in front of the door and pounded, making his presence known once more.
Authorities were informed by Fortson’s girlfriend that the airman had inquired about the presence of others but had received no answer. She said that Fortson informed her that no one visits his apartment, so he would not be answering the door. She said that neither of them heard the deputy declare that the sheriff’s office was where he worked.
She claimed that following the third knock, Fortson said to her, “I’m going to go get my gun because I don’t know who that is.”. “.
Duran ordered Fortson to “step back” when he opened the door while brandishing a gun, and two seconds later he started shooting. Fortson collapsed to the ground from behind.
“Drop the gun!” was yelled by the deputy only then.
“It’s over there,” Fortson retorted. “.
Although the deputy had summoned paramedics, Fortson passed away at the hospital shortly after.
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