Crime
Body camera footage shows the fatal shooting of a black airman by a Florida deputy in an apartment doorway
![](https://360wisemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Body-camera-footage-shows-the-fatal-shooting-of-a-black.jpg)
FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) – A Florida sheriff on Thursday released body camera footage showing a deputy standing outside an apartment door and shooting immediately after it was opened by a black man carrying a gun pointing downward, in what a family called “unjustified ” .”
Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden released the video hours after the family of U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson and his lawyers held a news conference in which they denied that the deputy general had acted in self-defense. Aden rejected claims by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents Fortson’s family, that the deputy went to the unsuitable apartment, covered the peephole on the door and didn’t report himself.
The video shows a police deputy arriving at a Fort Walton Beach apartment constructing on May 3 and talking to a woman outside who described hearing someone arguing. The deputy then took the elevator and walked through the outside hallway.
The video shows a police deputy banging on the door and moving to the side, seemingly out of sight of the door. He shouted twice, “Sheriff’s office! Open the door!”
Fortson opened the door and may very well be seen holding what gave the impression to be a gun pointed toward the floor. The deputy shouted, “Stand back!” and fired shots. He then shouted, “Drop your weapon! Drop the weapon!”
“It’s there,” Fortson said.
“Drop the weapon!” – the deputy shouted back.
“I don’t have it,” Fortson said as he lay on the ground.
The deputy then radioed for paramedics.
The sheriff’s office declined to supply details about the responding deputy or his race. The deputy has been placed on administrative leave pending the end result of the investigation.
Crump later released a statement noting that the officer didn’t tell Fortson to drop his gun before he fired “several times within a split second of opening the door.”
“We have consistently maintained that police mistook the apartment because Roger had been on the phone with his girlfriend for a significant portion of the time leading up to the shooting and no one else was in the apartment,” the statement read.
Crump also previously told reporters that Fortson was talking to his girlfriend on FaceTime and grabbed his gun because he heard someone leaving his apartment. He said the deputy forced entry into the apartment, citing the report of the girl, who has not yet been identified.
“The girl admits that although she initially thought the police had broken down the door, she stands by her emotional memories of what happened,” Crump’s later statement read.
In a FaceTime video captured on Fortson’s cellphone, the airman could be heard groaning and saying, “I can’t breathe.” The deputy could be heard yelling at him, “Stop moving!” The phone is pointed towards the ceiling and doesn’t show what is occurring in the apartment.
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Aden said he met with the family on Thursday and expressed his sincerest condolences.
“This is the result we can never hope to achieve,” Aden said. “These investigations take time, but I want to assure you that we are not hiding anything or trying to cover up.”
Officials said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the matter. FDLE spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the agency was unlikely to supply any further comments until the investigation was accomplished.
The sheriff said the investigation is being treated as a criminal investigation and that no decision has yet been made on whether the deputy’s actions were justified or not. However, an initial release from the sheriff’s office describing the shooting said the deputy “reacted in self-defense after encountering a 23-year-old man armed with a gun.”
Fortson’s mother, Chantemekki Fortson, walked into the morning news conference, with Crump holding a framed portrait of her son in his dress uniform. She burst into tears as Crump spoke about her son’s death.
“My baby was shot,” she said.
Crump called the shooting a “justifiable homicide.”
“For some reason they thought he was a bad guy, but he was a good guy. He was a great guy. He was a special guy,” Crump said. “They took our patriot away.”
Crump said Fortson, an Atlanta native, was shot six times.
Crump said Fortson enlisted in the Air Force after graduating from highschool. He was stationed in the Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field. As a special mission aviator, one of his roles was to load the gunship’s guns during missions.
Crump, based in Tallahassee, Florida, has been involved in multiple high-profile cases of fatal encounters between black people and law enforcement and vigilantes, including Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, Tir Nichols, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, who also died in her own residence during a police raid no knock that targeted her ex-boyfriend in 2020.
Fortson’s death bears striking similarities to the deaths of other Black people killed by police in their homes in recent years.
In 2018, a white Dallas police officer shot and killed unarmed Botham Jean after mistaking his apartment for his own. Former officer Amber Guyger was sentenced to 10 years in prison for murder.
In 2019, a white officer in Fort Worth, Texas, fatally shot Atatiana Jefferson through the rear window of her home after responding to a non-emergency call reporting that Jefferson’s front door was open. Aaron Dean, a former officer, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to almost 12 years in prison.
In each cases, Crump represented the families as part of his efforts to force accountability for police killings of black people.
Crime
Fired Florida sheriff’s deputy released on bail after fatally shooting black airman
![](https://360wisemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Fired-Florida-sheriffs-deputy-released-on-bail-after-fatally-shooting.jpg)
FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A judge on Thursday allowed bail to be granted for a Florida sheriff’s deputy who was fired and charged with murder after he shot and killed a senior U.S. Air Force soldier within the doorway of a Black man’s apartment.
Former Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Deputy Eddie Duran, 38, could resist 30 years in prison if convicted of murder with a firearm, a rare charge against a Florida law enforcement officer. Duran’s body camera recorded him shooting Roger Fortson, 23, on May 3, just after Fortson opened the door with the gun pointed at the ground.
Judge Terrance R. Ketchel set bail at $100,000 and said Duran cannot possess a firearm or leave the premises, though he is not going to be required to wear a GPS tracker. He was released from jail shortly after Thursday’s hearing, jail records show.
Duran’s arrest warrant was issued Thursday, pending a detention hearing, despite arguments from his attorney Rodney Smith that there was no probable cause to arrest him.
“He spent his entire life … his entire career and military career trying to save people, help people,” Smith said at Thursday’s hearing. “He is not a threat to the community.”
Prosecutor Mark Alderman said “this is a case where we all know what happened.”
“We all saw what happened,” he said. “It’s just a matter of interpretation. We all saw that Mr. Duran killed Roger Fortson. It’s obvious that’s a very serious charge.”
Duran had been homeschooling his six children in recent months while he was unemployed and his wife worked full time, Smith said. Duran sat quietly within the courtroom Thursday, wearing a pink striped prison jumpsuit and glasses. He conferred along with his lawyers and the occasional clang of metal handcuffs might be heard.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office initially said Duran fired in self-defense after being confronted by a person with a gun, but Sheriff Eric Aden fired back on May 31 after an internal investigation found his life was not in peril when he opened fire. Outside law enforcement experts have also said an officer can’t shoot simply because a possible suspect is holding a gun if there isn’t a threat.
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Duran was responding to a report of a physical fight at an apartment in a Fort Walton Beach complex. An worker identified Fortson’s apartment as the situation, based on sheriff’s investigators. Fortson was alone in his apartment on the time, talking to his girlfriend on a FaceTime video call. Duran’s body camera footage showed what happened next.
After knocking repeatedly, Fortson opened the door. Authorities say Duran shot him multiple times before telling Fortson to place the gun down.
Duran told investigators he saw aggression in Fortson’s eyes and shot because “I’m standing there thinking I’m about to get shot, I’m about to die.”
In a press release after Thursday’s hearing, Smith said the deputy’s actions “were reasonable and appropriate given the information he was provided regarding the nature and urgency of what he deemed to be a potentially dangerous domestic situation.”
In a press release, he described Fortson as “an individual who armed himself before he simply responded to what may have been nothing more than a routine attempt by law enforcement to prevent a domestic violence situation from escalating.”
At Thursday’s hearing, Smith said his team had cooperated with authorities, saying “we turned him in. He’s not going anywhere.”
Smith confirmed there was video evidence of the shooting and that the case was within the national interest.
“We know we have defenses that we intend to use … qualified immunity, defending our position with respect to law enforcement,” Smith said.
The fatal shooting of the Georgia airman was only one in a growing list of black people being killed by law enforcement officers in their very own homes, and it has also renewed debate over Florida’s “Stand and Fight” law. Hundreds of Air Force blues joined Fortson’s family, friends and others at his funeral.
Crime
Texas man exonerated after spending nearly 34 years in prison for wrongful conviction
![](https://360wisemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Texas-man-exonerated-after-spending-nearly-34-years-in-prison.jpg)
A wrongly convicted Texas man who spent 34 years in prison for a Eighties murder was acquitted Thursday, saying that while he couldn’t get back the years he lost, he’s glad and moving forward.
“I’m excited this day has finally come,” said Benjamin Spencer, 59.
A Dallas County judge granted the district attorney’s office’s request to dismiss aggravated robbery charge against Spencer, who was originally convicted in 1987 of murder in reference to the carjacking and death of Jeffrey Young.
“It’s a good day,” said defense attorney Cheryl Wattley, who has worked on Spencer’s case for greater than 20 years. “I’m trying not to cry.”
Wattley praised Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot for taking a serious take a look at evidence that had been discredited in the case.
Creuzot said he felt “relieved and humbled to be able to help correct this injustice.”
Prosecution witnesses, including a jailhouse informant who had sought a lenient sentence, gave false testimony, Creuzot said. He added that prosecutors on the time also failed to supply the defense with evidence that may have excluded Spencer from the crime, including fingerprints.
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Spencer, who maintained his innocence, later saw his 1987 conviction overturned. However, he was retried and sentenced to life in prison for the aggravated robbery of Young.
He was released on bail in 2021 after the district attorney’s office found that his constitutional rights had been violated and that he had not received a good trial because of false witness statements and the concealment of evidence.
Earlier this 12 months, the Texas Court of Criminal (*34*) overturned his conviction and sent the case back to Dallas County.
Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Garza, who heads the Conviction Integrity Unit, said: “There is no credible or physical evidence that he was in any way involved in this crime.”
Spencer is one in every of 60 individuals with the longest convictions to be found innocent, in line with the National Registry of Exonerations.
Under Texas law, he’s entitled to a lump sum of as much as $80,000 for annually of imprisonment, plus a pension, Wattley said.
Wattley said Spencer tries to live honorably and “strives to be an example that others can be inspired by.”
Crime
Authorities arrest former sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot black airman in his home
![](https://360wisemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Authorities-arrest-former-sheriffs-deputy-who-fatally-shot-black-airman.jpg)
A former Florida sheriff’s deputy accused of killing a black U.S. Air Force soldier who opened the door to his apartment while holding a gun pointed at the bottom was arrested Monday, officials said.
Former Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Deputy Eddie Duran, 38, has been charged with murder with a firearm in the May 3 shooting death of 23-year-old Roger Fortson, Assistant State’s Attorney Greg Marcille said Friday. The charge is a first-degree felony punishable by as much as 30 years in prison.
Duran was arrested Monday on the county jail, records show. Marcille confirmed his arrest to The Associated Press.
“He did turn himself in,” Marcille said in a telephone interview, adding that Duran’s first court appearance might be via video link Tuesday morning. “He will be held in custody pending his first appearance.”
A lawyer representing Duran didn’t immediately reply to an email in search of comment.
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.
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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, the day he was charged, candles and framed photos of Fortson in uniform were placed on the door of the apartment where he was murdered.
According to an internal affairs report into the shooting, Duran told investigators that when Fortson opened the door, he saw aggression in the airman’s eyes. He said he fired because “I’m standing there thinking I’m about to get shot, I’m about to die.”
Okaloosa Sheriff Eric Aden fired Duran on May 31 after an internal investigation found his life was not in danger when he opened fire. Outside law enforcement experts also said an officer cannot shoot simply because a possible suspect is holding a gun if there is no such thing as a threat.
Duran is a law enforcement veteran who began as a military police officer in the Army. He joined the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office in July 2019 but resigned two years later, saying his wife, a nurse, had been transferred to a naval hospital outside the realm. He returned to the sheriff’s office in June 2023.
Okaloosa 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 and telling a classmate he didn’t care. 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.
911 call records show officers had never been called to Fortson’s apartment before, but they’d been called to a close-by residence 10 times in the past eight months, including once for a domestic disturbance.
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