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Ex-Deputy Acquitted in Fatal Shooting of Black Air Force Airman Roger Fortson
A Florida jury on October 1 acquitted former sheriff's deputy Eddie Duran of manslaughter with a firearm in the 2024 shooting death of 23-year-old Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson.
Why it matters
The 2024 shooting that shocked the United States has reached its judicial conclusion: an Okaloosa County jury, after a four-day trial and about two hours of deliberation, acquitted former sheriff's deputy Eddie Duran, 38, of manslaughter with a firearm. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump vowed on October 2 to continue seeking accountability.
Full report
On May 3, 2024, Duran responded to a domestic disturbance call at the Fort Walton Beach apartment of 23-year-old U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson, near Hurlburt Field. The call later turned out to be false. Body-camera video showed Fortson opening his door holding a handgun pointed toward the floor; Duran immediately fired multiple shots at close range. Fortson, lying on the ground, said “It's over there” and “I don't have it” before dying at a hospital.
Fortson served as a missions operator with the 4th Special Operations Squadron, part of an AC-130J gunship aircrew. Authorities said he was alone in the apartment and on the phone with his girlfriend at the time. A month after the shooting, Sheriff Eric Aden fired Duran, saying the use of deadly force was “not reasonable.”
The prosecution, led by the office of State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden, said in a statement that it accepts the jury's verdict — meaning the state “did not prove the criminal charge beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of every juror” — and urged the public to respond “peacefully.” Duran had faced up to 30 years in prison.
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