Eddie Duran, 38, a former Florida sheriff’s deputy was charged with manslaughter with a firearm for killing Roger Fortson, a 23-year-old Black U.S. Air Force senior airman who answering his apartment door while holding a gun pointed toward the ground. The charge launches a rarely seen criminal case against a Florida law-enforcement officer. Duran, a former Okaloosa County deputy, was charged with the first-degree felony in the May 3 shooting of Fortson, which carries a sentenced of up to 30 years in prison, the Associated Press reports. “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,” said civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the airman’s family.
Authorities say Duran had been directed to Fortson’s Fort Walton Beach apartment in response to a domestic disturbance report that turned out to be false. After repeated knocking, Fortson opened the door while holding his handgun at his side, pointed down. Authorities say that Duran shot him multiple times; only then did he tell Fortson to drop the gun. On Friday, candles and framed photos of Fortson in uniform graced the doorway of the apartment where he was killed. Okaloosa Sheriff Eric Aden fired Duran on May 31 after an internal investigation concluded his life was not in danger when he opened fire. It is highly unusual for Florida law enforcement officers to be charged for an on-duty killing — it has only happened four times in the last 35 years before Friday. Even then, only one of those officers has been convicted. Four Miami-Dade officers were recently indicted on manslaughter charges in connection with a shootout with two robbers who hijacked a UPS truck. The shootout left the UPS driver and a passerby dead along with the hijackers. Three police officers in the Okaloosa County town of Crestview are awaiting trial on manslaughter charges for the 2021 death of a man who reportedly died after being jolted with a stun gun. Those officers have pleaded not guilty.
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