Former sheriff’s deputy charged with killing airman Roger Fortson in Florida home

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A Florida sheriff’s deputy has been charged with murder with a firearm, a rare criminal prosecution against a Florida police officer, after a black U.S. Air Force private was killed when he opened the door to his apartment while holding a gun pointed at the bottom.

Former Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Deputy Eddie Duran, 38, has been charged with killing 23-year-old Roger Fortson in a May 3 shooting, said Assistant State’s Attorney Greg Marcille. The charge is a first-degree felony punishable by as much as 30 years in prison.

Marcille said an arrest warrant had been issued for Duran, but he was not in custody as of Friday afternoon.

“Let this be a reminder to law enforcement officers everywhere that they have taken a solemn oath to protect and defend, and their actions have consequences, especially when they result in the loss of life,” civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the airman’s family, said Friday.

Sabu Williams, president of the local NAACP chapter, told The Associated Press: “I think that’s the best we could hope for in this particular case.”

Duran identified himself as Latino during voter registration, and charging documents released Friday also indicate that background.

Authorities say Duran was dispatched to Fortson’s Fort Walton Beach apartment in response to a domestic disturbance report that turned out to be false.

After knocking repeatedly, Fortson opened the door with the gun at his side, pointed down. Authorities say Duran shot him multiple times before telling Fortson to place the gun down.

On Friday, candles and framed photos of Fortson in uniform were placed on the door of the apartment where he was killed.

Okaloosa Sheriff Eric Aden fired Duran on May 31 after an internal investigation found his life was not in danger when he opened fire.

Duran’s attorney, John Whitaker, didn’t immediately reply to a phone call or email in search of comment.

It is very unusual for Florida law enforcement officers to be charged with murder in the road of duty — it had happened only 4 times in the 35 years before Friday. Even then, just one officer had been convicted.

Four Miami-Dade officers were recently charged with murder in connection with a shootout with two robbers who hijacked a UPS truck. The shooting killed the united statesdriver and a passerby, in addition to the abductors.

Three policemen in Okaloosa County, in the town of Crestview, are awaiting trial in the 2021 murder of a person who reportedly died after being shocked with a stun gun. The officers have pleaded not guilty.

Former Palm Beach Gardens officer is is serving a 25-year prison sentence of murder and attempted murder for a 2015 shooting. The officer was undercover and in plainclothes when he fatally shot a black man whose SUV had broken down on an interstate exit ramp. The man feared he was being robbed, pulled out a licensed handgun and tried to flee before he was shot.

The Broward sheriff’s deputy was accused of murder for the 2014 fatal shooting of a black man who was carrying a BB gun he had just purchased. A judge later dismissed that charge.

The U.S. Supreme Court has granted law enforcement officers “qualified immunity” for his or her actions while on duty, making it harder to charge and convict them of questionable shootings. The court says officers can only be convicted if the evidence shows their conduct was illegal they usually must have known they were violating “clearly established” law.

Duran began his law enforcement profession as a military police officer in the Army. He was hired by the Oklahoma Police Department in 2015 after being discharged from the military. He joined the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office in 2019, but resigned two years later, then rejoined the Sheriff’s Office in 2023.

Okaloosa’s personnel records show he was reprimanded in 2021 for failing to finish a task of confirming the addresses of three registered sex offenders by visiting their homes. Then assigned to a highschool as an on-campus substitute, he was also reprimanded for leaving school before the ultimate bell rang and students were released. Florida law requires an armed guard to be on campus during classes.

In an announcement Friday, the sheriff’s office said it stands by its decision to fireside Duran and has “been fully accountable and transparent” throughout the case.

The apartment complex where Fortson lived is about eight miles from Hurlburt Field, where Fortson was assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron as a special mission pilot aboard an AC-130J Ghostrider attack helicopter.

Duran went to the apartment complex on May 3 after receiving a domestic disturbance call. Duran met with the apartment manager, who directed him to Fortson’s fourth-floor apartment, telling him there have been frequent arguments, in keeping with the deputy’s body camera footage.

But Fortson, who has no criminal history, lived alone and had no visitors that afternoon. He was on a video call with his girlfriend, who told investigators they weren’t arguing. She said Fortson was playing a video game.

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Additionally, 911 records show officers had never been called to Fortson’s apartment before, but they’d been called to a close-by apartment 10 times in the past eight months, including once in reference to a domestic disturbance.

When Duran arrived at Fortson’s door, he stood silently for 20 seconds and listened, however the camera mounted on his body didn’t record any voices contained in the constructing.

He then began banging on the door but didn’t discover himself. He then walked to the side of the door, about 5 feet (1.5 meters). He told investigators he feared the person inside could shoot through the door or open it and push him over the railing to the bottom about 40 feet (12 meters) below.

He waited 15 seconds before banging on the door again. This time he shouted, “Sheriff’s office — open the door!” He stepped aside again. In the recording, a muffled voice might be heard — Duran said he heard someone cursing on the police.

Less than 10 seconds later, Duran returned to the door and knocked again, once more signaling that he was on the door.

Fortson’s girlfriend told investigators that the airman asked who was there but got no answer. She said Fortson told her he would not open the door because nobody involves his apartment. She said neither of them heard the deputy yell that he was from the sheriff’s office.

After the third knock, Fortson told her, “I’m going to get the gun because I don’t know who he is.”

When Fortson opened the door holding the gun, Duran said, “Stand back,” and two seconds later he began shooting. Fortson fell to the ground.

Only then did the deputy shout, “Drop your weapon!”

Fortson replied, “It’s over there.”

A sheriff’s deputy called an ambulance, but Fortson died on the hospital shortly thereafter.