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Former Florida deputy charged in fatal shooting of Roger Fortson

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On Friday, prosecutors charged a former Florida sheriff's deputy with manslaughter in the shooting death of a U.S. Air Force soldier on May 3.

Former Okaloosa County Sheriff's Deputy Eddie Duran Jr. has been charged with manslaughter with a firearm, according to Florida First District Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden. Duran is accused of killing 23-year-old Roger Fortson, a senior Air Force airman.

Duran responded to an apparent 911 call about a disturbance at Fortson's apartment complex. Prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump said Fortson was talking to his girlfriend on Facetime, who “heard everything” that happened during the shooting, and that Fortson was alerted by Duran's aggressive banging on the door. Fortson opened the door with a gun in his hand, but it was pointed at the ground.

The charges are the latest development in the story of a grieving family that lost another son in a fatal shooting and is now demanding answers from the Okaloosa Sheriff's Office.

Assistant District Attorney Greg Marcille told USA TODAY that a warrant has been issued for Duran's arrest. If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison. He confirmed that the office met with the Fortson family about the charges, but declined to provide further details about the conversation.

Fortson's mother, Chantemekki Fortson, called for charges to be brought against the deputy in June, saying she wanted justice for Roger and that Duran's fear of not coming home had become a reality for Roger.

Duran “thought he wasn't going to make it home to his family. And you know what? This one didn't make it,” she said, pointing to a photo of her son.

Crump said in a statement that the charges against Duran were the “first step toward justice for the family of Roger Fortson.”

“Nothing can ever bring Roger back, and our fight is far from over, but we hope this arrest and these charges will lead to real justice for the Fortson family,” he said. “Let this be a reminder to all law enforcement officers everywhere that they have sworn a solemn oath to protect and defend, and that their actions have consequences, especially when they result in the loss of life.”

The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office, which fired Duran in May, said in a statement that it stands by its decision to fire him after an internal investigation and expressed its wish for comfort to Fortson's family.

Pilot killed in May due to apparent malfunction

Duran is accused of killing Fortson as he responded to an apparent disturbance at an apartment complex in Fort Walton Beach, a small community about 150 miles west of Tallahassee. Body camera footage released by police shows Duran knocking three times on Fortson's apartment door and announcing he was from the sheriff's office.

Fortson opened the door with a gun in his hand and pointed it downward. Duran allegedly told Fortson to “stand back” and shot him. The 1st Special Operations Group identified Fortson as the victim in a news release. Fortson had been on active duty since November 2019.

Duran was fired after an investigation found that his use of force “was objectively unreasonable and therefore violated agency policy.”

Who is former deputy Eddie Duran?

Before rejoining the sheriff's office in 2023, Duran earned a bachelor's degree in criminal psychology and about half of a master's degree in human services counseling with a focus on crisis response and trauma, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office investigative report.

Duran served in the Army in 2003 and was deployed to Iraq in 2008. In 2007, he transferred from military intelligence to law enforcement and received training as a military policeman through the Army's Special Reaction Team.

Duran was honorably discharged in 2014 and began his civilian career in law enforcement in Oklahoma as a police officer and then as a dog handler from 2015 to 2019. He moved to Florida in 2019 and joined the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office.

He moved away briefly in 2021 and returned in 2023.

Contributors: Collin Bestor, Northwest Florida Daily News; Tom McLaughlin, Pensacola News Journal; Taylor Ardrey, Gabe Hauari, James Powel; USA TODAY.

Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at [email protected]. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter,@KrystalRNurse.

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