Ex-Deputy on Trial for Airman's Death
PHOTO CAPTION: Airmen, family and friends attend a memorial service for Senior Airman Roger Fortson at Hurlburt Field, Florida, on May 20, 2024. Former Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Deputy Eddie Duran is now on trial for manslaughter in Fortson’s death. U.S. Air Force photo.
A former Florida sheriff's deputy is going on trial for killing an Air Force airman who opened the door of his apartment holding a legally owned handgun pointed toward the ground.
Jury selection began Monday in the manslaughter trial of former Okaloosa County Sheriff's Deputy Eddie Duran, more than two years after the fatal shooting of Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson.
Fortson was 23 years old and stationed at Hurlburt Field, where he served as a special missions aviator.
He was alone in his Fort Walton Beach apartment and on a FaceTime call with his girlfriend on May 3, 2024, when Duran arrived in response to a reported domestic disturbance.
Body camera footage shows Duran knocking on Fortson's door and identifying himself as law enforcement.
When Fortson opened the door, he was holding a handgun in his right hand.
The weapon was pointed toward the ground.
Within seconds, Duran opened fire.
Fortson later died from his injuries.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office conducted an internal investigation and concluded that Fortson never pointed the handgun toward Duran and made no hostile or attacking movements.
Investigators also determined that Fortson did not physically resist the deputy.
The sheriff's office concluded that Duran's use of deadly force was not objectively reasonable under department policy and fired him later that month.
Sheriff Eric Aden said after the investigation that Fortson had committed no crime and that the facts did not support deadly force as an appropriate response.
Duran was later charged with manslaughter with a firearm.
He has pleaded not guilty.
His attorneys have argued that Duran believed he faced an imminent threat when Fortson opened the door holding the gun.
Duran testified during an August court hearing that he believed he was about to be shot and acted in self defense.
That argument became the center of a major pretrial fight.
Duran's attorneys sought immunity under Florida's Stand Your Ground law and asked Circuit Judge William Stone to dismiss the criminal charge.
Stone denied the request on Sept. 11.
In his ruling, Stone emphasized that Fortson had a legal right to possess a firearm inside his home and that simply holding the weapon at his side did not, by itself, justify deadly force.
The judge wrote that Fortson's firearm was pointed down and that he made no hostile movements before Duran fired.
Stone concluded that a reasonably cautious and prudent person would not have used deadly force under the circumstances presented in the evidence.
That ruling does not determine whether Duran is criminally guilty.
The question now moves to a jury.
The defense is expected to argue at trial that Duran was responding to what he believed was a potentially dangerous domestic disturbance and had only moments to react after seeing the firearm.
Prosecutors are expected to focus on Fortson's lawful possession of the gun, the position of the weapon and the lack of threatening movement before the shooting.
Fortson's death drew national attention in 2024 and sparked questions about police use of force and the rights of legally armed people inside their homes.
Fortson served with the 4th and 73rd Special Operations Squadrons at Hurlburt Field.
His fellow Airmen have continued to honor him since his death, including through memorial events held at the installation.
More than two years after the shooting, a jury will now be asked to decide whether Duran's decision to fire was criminal manslaughter or a legally justified response to what he believed was an immediate threat.
(Source: OAF Nation)
