A former Florida deputy involved in the fatal shooting of U.S. Airman Roger Fortson has been charged with one count of manslaughter. State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden announced the charge against Eddie Lee Duran Jr. on Friday (Aug. 23). He faces up to 30 years in prison.
Attorney Ben Crump and the airman’s family hope the charge will result in justice. “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,” they said in a joint statement.
According to the state attorney, a warrant for Duran’s arrest has been issued. Fortson, 23, was shot six times in the doorway of his Fort Walton Beach apartment on May 3. The deputy was responding to a possible domestic dispute call after neighbors reported hearing loud arguing coming from a unit. A resident suggested to Duran that the noise came from the active-duty senior airman’s residence. He had just returned home 30 minutes prior and was on a FaceTime call with his girlfriend and had not caused any disturbance.
The deputy knocked on the door and yelled, “Sheriff’s office, open the door!” Bodycam footage of the incident showed that when Fortson adhered to the command, he had a gun in his right hand. However, the weapon remained pointed at the floor. Within seconds, Duran ordered the young man to step back and then fired his department-issued firearm. As he lay on the ground injured, with his final breaths, the airman attempted to comply with orders to drop his gun, telling Duran, "It’s over there. I don’t have it.” Soon after, he was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
The sheriff’s office announced Duran’s termination on May 31 following a suspension pending the outcome of an internal investigation into the shooting. The administration determined the use of deadly force was not “objectively reasonable and therefore violated the agency policy.” Furthermore, the report states, “The former deputy confirmed Mr. Fortson did not physically resist him in any way, and the infestation concluded that Mr. Fortson did to point the gun in the former deputy’s direction.”
Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden said the fatal shooting should not have occurred. “The objective facts do not support the use of deadly force as an appropriate response to Mr. Fortson’s actions. Mr. Fortson did not commit any crime. By all accounts, he was an exceptional airman and individual,” said Aden in a released statement. Moreover, he stated that as a steward of public safety, Duran “did not meet the standard of objective reasonableness, and his use of control to resistance was excessive.”
Funeral services for the young man were held on May 17 in Stonecrest, an Atlanta suburb, and attended by family, friends, and hundreds of Air Force members.