Current:Home > MarketsFlorida deputy who fatally shot U.S. airman is fired following internal investigation -Profound Wealth Insights
Florida deputy who fatally shot U.S. airman is fired following internal investigation
View
Date:2025-04-16 18:34:04
A sheriff's deputy who fatally shot a Florida airman at his apartment earlier this month has been fired, authorities announced Friday.
Deputy Eddie Duran was "terminated" following an investigation by internal affairs, the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office reported in a news release.
The investigation determined that Duran's "use of deadly force" in the shooting death of Senior Airman Roger Fortson "was not objectively reasonable and therefore violated agency policy," the sheriff's office said.
"The firing of the officer who shot and killed Roger Fortson is a step forward, but it is not full justice for Roger and his family. The actions of this deputy were not just negligent, they were criminal," family attorney Ben Crump said in a Friday evening statement. "While the criminal investigation is still ongoing, we fully anticipate charges to be filed against this officer. The video footage provides damning proof that this was a brutal and senseless killing of a young man who was simply enjoying time alone with his dog while video chatting with his girlfriend."
On May 3, the 23-year-old Fortson was in his apartment in the Florida Panhandle city of Fort Walton Beach when he was fatally shot by Duran. Fortson was based at the Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, about five miles from his apartment.
Sheriff's investigators determined that Duran had initially been dispatched to an "in-progress physical disturbance" at Fortson's apartment complex, the sheriff's office said in its news release Friday.
The sheriff's office says that when Duran arrived at the complex, he was directed by a complex employee to unit 1401, where the employee stated was "the location of the disturbance," and added that "there had been recent unreported disturbances at or around the same apartment," the sheriff's office reported.
A statement previously released by the family, however, contradicts that assertion, claiming that Fortson was on a FaceTime call with his girlfriend leading up to the shooting, and alleged that the deputy was directed to the wrong apartment.
Body camera video released by the sheriff's office earlier this month showed a deputy knocking on the door of Fortson's apartment and announcing he was with the sheriff's office. When the door opens, the deputy yells for Fortson to step back.
In the bodycam video, the deputy initially knocks without announcing himself. About 30 seconds later, he knocks again, saying he's with the sheriff's office and to open the door. He knocks and announces himself approximately 10 seconds later. Within seconds of Fortson opening the door, the deputy shoots Fortson, who is seen holding what appears to be a handgun at his side.
Crump previously stated in a news conference that Fortson was on FaceTime with his girlfriend and went to retrieve his legally owned gun after hearing the knock on the door and not hearing who was there.
Crump's firm also previously released a video of the FaceTime call that appears to start after the shooting, showing the ceiling of Fortson's apartment.
"I can't breathe," Fortson says in the video while groaning.
Sheriff's investigators allege that when Fortson opened the door, Duran saw Fortson "holding a firearm in his right hand," but that the gun "was pointed at the ground sufficiently enough for the former deputy to clearly see the rear face of the rear sight."
Fortson "did not physically resist" Duran "in any way, and the investigation concluded that Mr. Forston did not point the gun in the former deputy's direction," the sheriff's office said Friday.
Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden said in a statement Friday that "this tragic incident should have never occurred. The objective facts do not support the use of deadly force as an appropriate response to Mr. Fortson's actions. Mr. Fortson did not commit any crime. By all accounts, he was an exceptional airman and individual."
— Alex Sundby contributed to this report.
- In:
- Fatal Shooting
- U.S. Air Force
- Florida
Faris Tanyos is a news editor for CBSNews.com, where he writes and edits stories and tracks breaking news. He previously worked as a digital news producer at several local news stations up and down the West Coast.
veryGood! (6365)
Related
- Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
- Pregnant Cardi B Details Freak Accident That Nearly Left Her Paralyzed
- NYC driver charged with throwing a lit firework into a utility truck and injuring 2 workers
- Why Zoë Kravitz & Channing Tatum's On-Set Relationship Surprised Their Blink Twice Costar Levon Hawke
- Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
- VP Candidate Tim Walz Has Deep Connections to Agriculture and Conservation
- France beats Germany 73-69 to advance to Olympic men’s basketball gold medal game
- What’s black and white and fuzzy all over? It’s 2 giant pandas, debuting at San Diego Zoo
- Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
- Katie Ledecky, Nick Mead to lead US team at closing ceremony in Paris
Ranking
- Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
- Ferguson marks 10 years since Michael Brown’s death. While there’s some progress, challenges persist
- Wisconsin man convicted in wrong-way drunken driving crash that killed 4 siblings
- Nina Dobrev Details Struggle With Depression After Bike Accident
- Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor
- Katy Perry Reveals Orlando Bloom's Annoying Trait
- Rain, wind from Tropical Storm Debby wipes out day 1 of Wyndham Championship
- 2024 Olympics: Jordan Chiles’ Coach Slams Cheating Claims Amid Bronze Medal Controversy
Recommendation
The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
After 'hell and back' journey, Tara Davis-Woodhall takes long jump gold at Paris Olympics
Florida sheriff’s deputy rescues missing 5-year-old autistic boy from pond
Who is Nick Mead? Rower makes history as Team USA flag bearer at closing ceremony with Katie Ledecky
$73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
Prompted by mass shooting, 72-hour wait period and other new gun laws go into effect in Maine
The Latest: With major party tickets decided, 2024 campaign is set to play out as a 90-day sprint
University of Georgia panel upholds sanctions for 6 students over Israel-Hamas war protest