The trial of Former Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Deputy Eddie Duran will likely start on Monday.
Duran, an Army veteran and law enforcement officer for about a decade, had submitted his resignation from the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office when he responded to a domestic violence call at the Chez Elan apartment complex on Racetrack Road in Fort Walton Beach in May of 2024.
On the other side of the door, and the emergency call, was Senior Airman Roger Fortson. Fortson, described as a model airman who’d climbed out of poverty in Atlanta, was making his way through the world successfully and striving to continue his career in the military.
He had a little sister who worshipped him – he had recently purchased her a pint-sized flight suit so they could match.
Duran went to the apartment by himself and knocked on the door. Video from a body camera shows Duran knock and move to the side out of the view of the peephole, presumably to avoid the ‘fatal funnel’ of gunfire that is a common cause of death on domestic violence cases like the one dispatch sent him on.
Fortson, who was talking to his girlfriend on the phone at the time, responded to a knock and decided to grab his gun. According to his girlfriend, they were both spooked by the knock and did not hear anyone announce themselves as law enforcement.
What happened next isn’t up for debate in the trial: Fortson answered the door with his pistol pointed toward the ground in his non-dominant hand. Duran pulled his weapon and fired a number of times, shooting and fatally wounding Fortson in his own home. He would die minutes from his home in a hospital bed at Fort Walton-Destin Medical Center, right down the road.
A memorial service was held in his honor at Hurlburt Field, where he was stationed.
Sheriff Eric Aden initially defended him in a press conference, where he showed body camera video and didn’t answer questions about training or protocol. A few days later, he would summarily fire Duran after he said the department conducted an internal investigation and claimed he did not follow proper protocol for incidents of this nature.
The Air Force community raged against what had happened. Many said they would show up in their dress blues for the trial. Fortson’s family members made multiple trips to the Emerald Coast to demand charges against Duran. In the maelstrom, Fortson’s mother would lose another son to gun violence, this time in Atlanta. Influencer and Atlanta Attorney Ben Crump would travel down to the Emerald Coast to demand accountability from the Sheriff’s Office.
Aden won a resounding election victory three months after the shooting, defeating two opponents. Conveniently for Sheriff Aden, Duran would be arrested and initially charged with murder seven days after the election results were in, which saw him win two votes to one in a resounding mandate. The charges against Duran would later be downgraded to manslaughter.
Crump would file a civil suit against the apartment complex Fortson lived in over how it handled the complaint that led to Duran’s arrival on the property. The suit would be dismissed, and Crump’s involvement with the Fortson family at press conferences would end.
Two years that included a failed motion for dismissal, delays, Duran’s testimony on the stand, and rescheduling may end this week – and the trial of Duran may begin. We will be there from the beginning to the end of the trial.
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Relevant Links to stories
Relevant Links
- Sheriff Eric Aden Profile
- Family Attorney Demands Charges for Former Deputy
- Brother of Slain Hurlburt Airman Shot and Killed in Atlanta
- Election Night Race Results
- Deputy Charged in Hurlburt Airman’s Killing Booked Into Okaloosa Jail
- Judge Dismisses Negligence Claims Against Apartment Complex
- Judge Denies Dismissal Motions in Manslaughter Case
- Duran Gives Emotional Testimony in Dismissal Hearing
- Who is Eddie Duran? The Deputy Who Killed Hurlburt Airman Roger Fortson
- Slain Airman’s Mother Lays Blame at Okaloosa Sheriff’s Feet
- Defense Makes Final Immunity Push
