The ex-Florida deputy who fatally shot Atlanta airman has been charged with manslaughter
A former Florida sheriff’s deputy charged with killing a U.S. Air Force Airman from Atlanta who answered his apartment door while holding a gun pointed toward the ground was arrested on Monday, officials said.
Former Okaloosa County deputy Eddie Duran, 38, was charged with manslaughter with a firearm in the May 3 shooting death of 23-year-old Roger Fortson, Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille announced Friday. The charge is a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
Duran was booked into the county jail Monday, records show. Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille confirmed his arrest to The Associated Press.
“He did, in fact, turn himself in,” Marcille said in a telephone interview, adding that Duran’s initial court appearance will be via video link Tuesday morning. “He will be held in custody pending his initial appearance.”
According to the internal affairs report of the shooting, Duran told investigators that when Fortson opened the door, he saw aggression in the airman’s eyes. He said he fired because, “I’m standing there thinking I’m about to get shot, I’m about to die.”
Okaloosa Sheriff Eric Aden fired Duran on May 31 after an internal investigation concluded his life was not in danger when he opened fire.
It is the policy that officers can use only that amount of force that is objectively reasonable, an officer cannot shoot only because a possible suspect is holding a gun if there is no threat.
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