FORT WALTON BEACH, Florida — A judge on Thursday granted bail to a Florida sheriff’s deputy who was fired and charged with manslaughter after he shot a Senior Pilot of the United States Air Force at the door of the black man’s apartment.
Former Okaloosa County deputy Eddie Duran, 38, faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of manslaughter with a firearm, a rare charge against a Florida police officer. Duran’s body camera captured him shooting 23-year-old Roger Fortson on May 3, immediately after Fortson opened the door while pointing a gun at the ground.
Thursday’s hearing was before Judge Terrance R. Ketchel, who has been appointed to preside over Duran’s case. Ketchel set bail at $100,000 and said Duran cannot possess a firearm or leave the area, though he will not be required to wear a GPS tracker.
Duran was remanded in custody pending his arrest The hearing on his pre-trial detention on Thursday, despite arguments from his lawyer Rodney Smith, who said there is no reason to jail him.
“He’s spent his entire life … his entire career and his military career trying to save people, trying to help people,” Smith said during Thursday’s hearing. “He’s not a danger to the community.”
Duran has been homeschooling his six children for the past few months while he himself has been unemployed and his wife has been working full time, Smith said.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office initially said Duran fired in self-defense after encountering a man with a gun, but Sheriff Eric Aden fired Duran on May 31 after an internal investigation found that his life was not in danger when he opened fire. External law enforcement experts have also said that an officer should not shoot just because a potential suspect is holding a weapon, if there is no threat.
Duran responded to a report of a physical fight at an apartment in the Fort Walton Beach complex. An employee there identified Fortson’s apartment as the location, according to sheriff’s investigators. Fortson was alone in his apartment at the time, speaking to his girlfriend on a FaceTime video call that recorded audio of the encounter. Duran’s bodycam video showed what happened next.
After knocking repeatedly, Fortson opened the door. Authorities say Duran shot him multiple times and only then told Fortson to drop the gun.
Duran told investigators he saw aggression in Fortson’s eyes and shot because, “I’m standing there thinking I’m about to get shot, I’m about to die.”
During Thursday’s hearing, Smith said his team has been cooperating with authorities and said “we turned him in. He’s not going anywhere.”
Smith acknowledged the video evidence of the shooting and the national interest in the case.
“We know we have defenses that we will invoke… qualified immunity, stand your ground as you would law enforcement,” Smith said.
The fatal shooting of the pilot from Georgia was one of a growing list of murders of black people by law enforcement in their own homes, and it was also renewed debate about Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law. Hundreds of Air Force members in dress blue joined The Fortson Familyfriends and others at his funeral.
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Associated Press reporter Jeff Martin in Atlanta contributed.
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Kate Payne is a staff member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-reported issues.
