The Florida sheriff’s deputy who was fired over the fatal shooting of Roger Fortson, a Black U.S. Air Force airman gunned down in the doorway of his own apartment, has been charged in connection with the deadly confrontation.
Former Okaloosa County deputy Eddie Duran is facing one count of manslaughter with a firearm in Fortson’s May 3 shooting death, Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille confirmed on Friday. He added that a warrant had been issued for the ex-deputy’s arrest but that he’d not yet been taken into custody.
Fortson, who was based at the Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, was inside his off-base apartment in Fort Walton Beach on a FaceTime call when Duran knocked on his door. Police previously said Duran was directed to the apartment complex to investigate a domestic disturbance report that turned out to be false.
Bodycam footage released in wake of the shooting shows Duran standing outside Fortson’s apartment, listening and trying to discern what exactly is happening inside. After about 30 seconds, he pounds on the door, but no one responds. He then knocks again, this time identifying himself as law enforcement.
Fortson does not appear in the doorway until after Duran knocks for a third time. The video shows he is armed, but that his gun is pointed toward the ground at the time.
Duran then fires off a series of shots, telling Fortson to drop his weapon only after he’s already on the ground. The 23-year-old airman later died at the hospital.
“I believe that the charge is appropriate,” said Sabu Williams, president of the local branch of the NAACP. “I think manslaughter was right on point.”
On May 31, Sheriff Eric Aden announced that Duran had been fired following an administrative internal affairs investigation.
If convicted of the manslaughter charge, a first-degree felony, Duran faces a punishment of up to 30 years in prison.
