Former Florida deputy arrested for fatal shooting of pilot in his home

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Hundreds of friends, family and teammates gather for the funeral of Senior Airman Roger Fortson at Hurlburt Field, Fla. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Alex Stephens)

CRESTVIEW, Florida. – A former Florida sheriff’s deputy was arrested Monday after being accused of shooting a black senior U.S. Air Force officer who opened his apartment door with a gun pointed at the ground, officials said.

Eddie Duran, 38, a former deputy with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, is charged with manslaughter with a firearm in the shooting death of 23-year-old Roger Fortson on May 3, Assistant District Attorney Greg Marcille said Friday. The charge, a first-degree felony, is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Duran was booked into the Okaloosa County Jail on Monday, according to jail records. Marcille confirmed Duran’s arrest in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

“He actually turned himself in,” Marcille said, adding that Duran’s first court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday morning via video link. “He will be held in custody until his first appearance.”

A lawyer representing Duran did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Authorities said Duran was dispatched to Fortson’s apartment because he had received a domestic disturbance report that was later found to be false. After repeated knocks, Fortson opened the door with a gun pointed downward at his side. Duran then shot Fortson several times, authorities said, before ordering him to drop the gun.

On Friday, the day the charges were announced, candles and framed photos of Fortson in uniform were placed outside the door of the apartment where he was killed.

According to an internal report on the shooting, Duran told investigators that when Fortson opened the door, he saw aggression in the pilot’s eyes. “I’m standing there thinking I’m about to get shot, I’m about to die,” Duran reportedly said.

Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden fired Duran on May 31 after an internal investigation found Duran’s life was not in danger when he fired his weapon. Outside law enforcement experts have also said officers are not justified in shooting a person just because they are holding a gun if there is no direct threat.

Duran has a background in law enforcement and began his career as a military policeman in the Army. He initially joined the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office in July 2019, but resigned two years later, citing his wife’s transfer to a naval hospital outside the area. He returned to the Sheriff’s Office in June 2023.

Duran’s personnel records show previous disciplinary actions, including a 2021 reprimand for failing to complete his assignment to check the addresses of three registered sex offenders. He was also disciplined while serving as a high school deputy for leaving school grounds before the final bell and before students were dismissed, despite Florida law requiring an armed security guard to be present during school hours.

Records show that officers had not been called to Fortson’s apartment before, but had been called to a nearby unit 10 times in the past eight months, including once for a domestic dispute.

A mug shot of Duran was not immediately available.

The Associated Press contributed to this report