Prosecutor: Former MP charged with manslaughter in shooting of pilot

CRESTVIEW – A sheriff's deputy in the Florida Panhandle faces charges of manslaughter with a firearm in connection with the fatal shooting of a pilot who answered his apartment door with a gun in his hand.

Former Okaloosa County Deputy Eddie Duran was charged Friday with the May 3 shooting death of Senior Airman Roger Fortson, Assistant District Attorney Greg Marcille said Friday. That's a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Marcille said a warrant had been issued for Duran's arrest, but he was not in custody as of early Friday afternoon. Fortson, 23, was black.

“I think that's the best we could have hoped for in this particular case,” said Sabu Williams, president of the local NAACP chapter.

“I think the charge is appropriate,” Williams told the Associated Press. “I think manslaughter was exactly the right thing.”

Authorities said Duran was sent to Fortson's Fort Walton Beach apartment because of a domestic disturbance report that turned out to be false.

After repeated knocks, Fortson opened the door while holding his gun down. Authorities say Duran shot him multiple times before ordering Fortson to drop the gun.

Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden fired Duran on May 31 after an internal investigation concluded his life was not in danger when he opened fire.

Duran's attorney, John Whitaker, did not immediately respond to a call and email seeking comment.

It is highly unusual for police officers in Florida to be charged with a line-of-duty killing – before Friday, it had only happened four times in the past 35 years. And even then, only one of those officers was convicted.

Four Miami-Dade police officers were recently charged with manslaughter in connection with a shootout involving two robbers who hijacked a UPS delivery truck. The shootout left the hijackers, the UPS driver, and a bystander dead.

Three police officers in the Okaloosa County city of Crestview are awaiting trial on manslaughter charges in connection with the 2021 death of Calvin Wilks Jr., who died after they allegedly shocked him with a stun gun. The officers have pleaded not guilty.