Fired Florida deputy who killed Roger Fortson is charged with manslaughter

The since-fired Florida sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot an Air Force senior airman in his home in May has been charged with manslaughter, authorities said Friday.

The charge was confirmed by Gregory Anchors, the chief assistant state’s attorney for Okaloosa County, who said the charge of manslaughter with a firearm carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

Eddie Duran, formerly of the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, shot Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson multiple times on May 3, after Fortson opened the door of his Fort Walton Beach apartment. Fortson was holding a gun in his right hand that was pointed to the ground, body-camera video shows. Duran was responding to a call of a domestic disturbance from a resident in the apartment complex.

Anchors said a warrant had been issued for Duran’s arrest but that he was unsure when the former deputy would turn himself in. Duran did not immediately reply to a request for comment. His attorney did not immediately reply to a phone call and email seeking comment.

Fortson, 23, was home alone with his dog on a video call with his girlfriend when he was killed. Fortson was Black. Duran listed himself as Hispanic on his voter registration.

At a news conference last week, Fortson’s parents called on state attorney Ginger Bowden Madden to charge Duran.

“I hope this brings about change and it teaches others that you can’t just kill people,” his mother, Chantemekki Fortson, said Friday after learning of the charges. “Because he should have waited for backup. And investigated a little more.”

Still, she said, the news “doesn’t bring me any peace. It still hurts.”

Her attorney, Ben Crump, said: “Nothing can ever bring Roger back, and our fight is far from over, but we are hopeful that this arrest and these charges will result in real justice for the Fortson family.”

Duran joined the sheriff’s office in 2019 and resigned in November 2021. He returned in June 2023.

On May 31, nearly a month after Fortson’s killing, Sheriff Eric Aden announced that Duran had been fired following an administrative internal affairs investigation.

“The objective facts of the administrative investigation concluded that Mr. Fortson did not make any hostile, attacking movements, and therefore, the former deputy’s use of deadly force was not objectively reasonable” under sheriff’s office policy, Aden said, adding, “This tragic incident should have never occurred.”

In a statement Friday, the sheriff’s office said it stands by its decision to terminate Duran and that it “has been fully accountable and transparent.” The department said it also continues “to wish Mr. Fortson’s family comfort and peace” as Duran’s case proceeds.

Aden said Fortson had not committed any crime. “By all accounts, he was an exceptional airman and individual,” Aden said.

Fortson was stationed at the Air Force’s Hurlburt Field in the Florida Panhandle.

Chantemekki Fortson and her attorneys have said Duran’s termination was just a first step toward accountability. Days after the firing was announced, they implored authorities to act swiftly and charge Duran.

The Fortson family has experienced two losses this year.