Florida deputy who shot US pilot fired after sheriff’s investigation

The Florida sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed a U.S. Air Force soldier while responding to a report of a disturbance has been fired, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said Friday.

An internal investigation into the May 3 shooting found that Deputy Eddie Duran’s use of deadly force, which resulted in the death of Senior Airman Roger Fortson, was not appropriate, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

“The objective facts do not support the use of deadly force as an appropriate response to Mr. Fortson’s actions,” Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden said in his office’s statement.

Duran could not be reached for comment on Friday.

Two Florida organizations that represent law enforcement and provide legal counsel when officers are accused of misconduct did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It is unclear whether either of them represents Duran.

Fortson, 23, was fatally shot when he opened the door of his apartment in Fort Walton Beach, about 40 miles east of Pensacola, after Duran knocked and announced the presence of police forces, the sheriff’s office said.

Duran responded to a report of an ongoing disturbance and was led by a complex employee to the apartment where Fortson lived, the office said.

A person described as a neighbor told a sheriff’s dispatcher at the time that they heard what they thought was an argument between a man and a woman in the apartment that sounded like it was getting physical, and that it was not the first time a loud argument had been heard near the apartment, according to the investigative report.

After knocking without identifying himself, Duran knocked twice more, each time identifying himself as “Sheriff’s Office,” the office said.

Fortson opened the front door and the two faced each other, the statement said. The pilot had a gun pointed downward at his side, was not aiming and did not resist the deputy before Duran opened fire, the statement said.

“Mr. Fortson committed no crime,” Aden said. “By all accounts, he was an exceptional pilot and human being.”

Fortson died in the hospital.

At a May 9 news conference, Fortson’s family and their attorneys said he was home alone before the shooting, talking on a video call with his girlfriend. They said he thought someone was trying to break in, and they believe the deputy drove to the wrong apartment.

Earlier this month, the sheriff’s office released body camera footage of the incident, showing Fortson opening the door to his apartment outside the base and immediately being shot multiple times.

After the shooting, the sheriff’s office initially said in a statement that Duran had “acted in self-defense.”

But the internal investigation made it clear that the office believes Duran violated agency policies.

It concluded that “Mr. Fortson did not engage in hostile attack movements and therefore the former deputy’s use of deadly force was objectively not appropriate under OSCO guidelines,” the office said Friday.

Fortson was stationed at Hurlburt Field Air Force Base in Okaloosa County. His family has hired well-known civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement continues to investigate the shooting.