Florida jury acquits ex-deputy in fatal shooting of Black Air Force airman

Fortson family vows federal civil rights lawsuit will proceed

An Okaloosa County jury on Thursday found former sheriff’s deputy Eddie Duran not guilty of manslaughter with a firearm in the May 2024 fatal shooting of Roger Fortson, a Black U.S. Air Force airman killed inside his Fort Walton Beach, Florida apartment. The verdict ends the criminal prosecution but leaves pending a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Fortson’s family, whose civil rights attorney vowed Friday to continue the legal fight.

The jury deliberated for about two hours following a four-day trial, according to The Guardian. Duran, 38 and Hispanic, had been an Okaloosa County sheriff’s deputy when he was sent to Fortson’s apartment in May 2024. Fortson, originally from Atlanta, was stationed in the area.

Authorities said Duran was directed to the apartment after a report of a domestic disturbance that turned out to be false. After Duran repeatedly knocked on the door, Fortson answered while holding a handgun at his side, the weapon pointed toward the ground. Authorities said Duran fired multiple times before telling Fortson to drop the gun. The encounter was captured on the deputy’s body camera.

Duran was fired from the Okaloosa County sheriff’s office after the killing. His defense attorney argued that the former deputy was “doing his job” and said Fortson would still be alive if he had not armed himself before answering the door.

One day after the acquittal, civil rights attorney Ben Crump said the family would continue its legal fight and vowed to “seek accountability” through the civil court system.

“Roger’s life and his service will always matter,” Crump said in a statement on Friday. “His family will keep fighting for him, and we will stand with them as they pursue their civil rights case in federal court and seek accountability for the tragic loss of his life.”

Fortson’s mother, Chantemekki Fortson, told the Atlanta news outlet WXIA she was unsurprised by the verdict, citing the speed of the jury’s deliberations.

“They went to deliberate for just two hours,” she said. “So, again, I wasn’t surprised.”

She also said the trial forced her to face details surrounding her son’s death that she had spent the previous two years trying to avoid.

“Now I can’t do that,” she told WXIA. “Like he’s really gone. He’s never coming back. He’s never gonna say, ‘Mom, what you doing? Mom, you wanna go get something to eat? Mom, you need do your hair.’ Like I’m never going to hear my baby’s voice no more.”