A former Florida sheriff’s deputy has been found not guilty of manslaughter with a firearm in the killing of a Black U.S. Air Force airman fatally shot at his apartment during a domestic disturbance call.<\/p>\n
An Okaloosa County jury acquitted Eddie Duran, 38, on Thursday. Duran had faced up to 30 years in prison.<\/p>\n
Duran, who is Hispanic, worked for the Okaloosa County sheriff’s department in May 2024 when he responded to Roger Fortson’s Fort Walton Beach apartment near Hurlburt Field, where the airman was stationed.<\/p>\n
The sheriff’s office had said the deputy \u201creacted in self-defense after he encountered a 23-year-old man armed with a gun.\u201d The shooting<\/a> was captured on the deputy’s body camera<\/a>.<\/p>\n The video shows the deputy banging on the door and stepping aside, seemingly out of view of the door. Twice he shouted: \u201cSheriff\u2019s office! Open the door!\u201d<\/p>\n Fortson opened the door and could be seen holding what appeared to be a handgun pointed down toward the floor. The deputy shouted, \u201cStep back!\u201d and fired off shots. He then shouted, \u201cDrop the gun! Drop the gun!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s over there,\u201d Fortson said.<\/p>\n \u201cDrop the gun!\u201d the deputy yelled back.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have it,\u201d Fortson said, lying on the ground.<\/p>\n The deputy then called paramedics on his radio.<\/p>\n Fortson later died at a hospital. The domestic disturbance report that led Duran to Fortson\u2019s apartment turned out to be false. <\/p>\n After the shooting, authorities said Fortson was alone in the apartment and on the phone with his girlfriend.<\/p>\n Fortson was assigned as a missions operator to the 4th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field. He was a member of the squadron\u2019s AC-130J Ghostrider aircrew, which loads the gunship\u2019s 30 mm and 105 mm cannons during missions.<\/p>\n The State Attorney\u2019s office prosecuted Duran and said in a news release<\/a> that it accepts the jury\u2019s verdict, which means the state \u201cdid not prove the criminal charge beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of every juror.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe understand that this verdict will cause pain, anger, or disappointment for many people, particularly some members of the community who view Senior Airman Fortson\u2019s death within a context of encounters nationally involving law enforcement,\u201d the State Attorney’s office said. \u201cThose reactions should not be dismissed.\u201d<\/p>\n Duran was fired after an internal sheriff\u2019s office investigation later determined his life was not in danger when he shot Fortson.<\/p>\n Duran\u2019s attorney, Rod Smith, said the shooting was a police officer safety issue and that Duran went to Fortson\u2019s apartment \u201cto find out what was going on based on a complaint from a neighbor.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNone of this needed to happen,\u201d Smith told The Associated Press on Friday. \u201c(Fortson) absolutely knew a police officer was at the door. Deputy Duran, himself, was also a victim of a terrible tragedy. He had followed his training. The guy answered the door with a semiautomatic pistol in his hand.\u201d<\/p>\n It is highly unusual<\/a> for Florida law enforcement officers to be charged for an on-duty killing \u2014 it has only happened four times in the last 35 years before Fortson’s killing. Even then, only one of those officers was convicted.<\/p>\n \u201cDeputies perform essential and often dangerous work every day, and are entitled to the same presumption of innocence and fair process as everyone else accused of a crime,\u201d the State Attorney\u2019s office said. “At the same time, the authority to use deadly force must remain subject to independent review. Presenting disputed evidence to a jury is part of that accountability and is essential to public trust.\u201d<\/p>\n