Authorities arrest ex-sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot a Black airman at his home

A former Florida sheriff’s deputy charged with killing a Black U.S. Air Force senior airman who answered his apartment door while holding a gun pointed toward the ground was arrested Monday, officials said.

Former Okaloosa County deputy Eddie Duran, 38, was charged with manslaughter with a firearm in the May 3 shooting death of 23-year-old Roger Fortson, Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille announced Friday. The charge is a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Duran was booked into the county jail Monday, records show. Marcille confirmed his arrest to The Associated Press.

“He did, in fact, turn himself in,” Marcille said in a telephone interview, adding that Duran's initial court appearance will be via video link Tuesday morning. “He will be held in custody pending his initial appearance.”

An attorney representing Duran did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

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, the day the charge was announced, candles and framed photos of Fortson in uniform graced the doorway of the apartment where he was killed.

According to the internal affairs report of the shooting, Duran told investigators that when Fortson opened the door, he saw aggression in the airman’s eyes. He said he fired because, “I’m standing there thinking I’m about to get shot, I’m about to die.”

Okaloosa Sheriff Eric Aden fired Duran on May 31 after an internal investigation concluded his life was not in danger when he opened fire. Outside law enforcement experts have also said that an officer cannot shoot only because a possible suspect is holding a gun if there is no threat.

Duran is a law enforcement veteran, starting as a military police officer in the Army. He joined the Okaloosa County sheriff’s office in July 2019, but resigned two years later, saying his wife, a nurse, had been transferred to a Naval hospital out of the area. He rejoined the sheriff’s office in June 2023.

Okaloosa personnel records show he was reprimanded in 2021 for not completing his assignment to confirm the addresses of three registered sex offenders by visiting their homes, telling a colleague he didn’t care about them. Then assigned to a high school as its on-campus deputy, he was also disciplined that year for leaving the school before the final bell and the students’ departure. Florida law requires that an armed guard be on campus when class is in session.

Records of 911 calls show deputies had never been called to Fortson’s apartment previously but they had been summoned to a nearby unit 10 times in the previous eight months, including once for a domestic disturbance.

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Anderson reported from St. Petersburg, Florida. Martin reported from Atlanta.