The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office fired a deputy who previously served in the U.S. Army following a weeks-long investigation into the shooting death of Senior Airman Roger Fortson.
But Fortson's family doesn't think it's enough.
The administrative investigation determined Deputy Eddie Duran used "deadly force" that was not "reasonable" and "violated agency policy."
"Honestly it's not enough," Fortson's cousin LaReine "RiRi" Fortson told Newsweek. "That man is a murderer and they said it themselves: he didn't follow any protocols. He took away our angel."
Fortson was fatally shot six times on May 3 by Duran who allegedly responded to the wrong apartment for a disturbance call. Okaloosa Sheriff's officials dispute this claim and provided a different narrative of how the shooting unfolded.
"This tragic incident should have never occurred," said Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden. "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."
No criminal charges have been filed at this time.
"Justice needs to be served," Fortson's cousin LaReine "RiRi" Fortson told Newsweek. "He needs to be charged with murder. "Eddie came to kill with his gun already drawn."
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement's investigation is still ongoing.
"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," said the family's attorney Benjamin Crump. "The actions of this deputy were not just negligent, they were criminal."
Crump said he does "fully anticipate" charges to be filed against Duran.
"I want justice for my child. You're not going to throw me a bone," said Chantemekki Fortson, the senior airman's mother, in a press conference Monday morning. "Bring up charges against him."
Even still, Crump said there is a chance, if history repeats itself, that Duran would be able to move on to a different police department.
"I wish I can bring back my baby cousin," RiRi said. "I wish that I could have touched him, and his heart started back, but honestly he is in a much better place than this. It's very ghetto on Earth. It's so wicked."
Who is Eddie Duran?
Duran, who lives in Shalimar, Florida, served in the U.S. Army from 2003 to 2014, which included a combat deployment to Iraq in 2008, Cpt. Robert Wagner wrote in the office's investigation. He started in military intelligence and then moved to military law enforcement in 2007.
Following Duran's honorable discharge, he started his civilian law enforcement career in Oklahoma. He worked as a police officer and K9 officer from 2015 to 2019.
For a period, however, in 2016 through early 2017, Duran was a fire marshal for the Altus Fire Department. In 2019 he had accepted a position as a sergeant for the civilian law enforcement police department on the Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma.
Duran was first employed by the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office in July 2019. He resigned in November 2021 to "follow his spouse (Ashley), who had a career opportunity outside of Florida," according to the investigation. When wife's career returned to the state, Duran returned to the department in June 2023.
He was reportedly "current" on response to resistance training, having last completed it on June 28, 2023. The training is meant to teach officers how to respond to situations when an individual is using violence or resisting arrest, according to the Florida Sheriffs Association.
"Direct to threat to me entails when we are aware of violent crime taking place that it is our responsibility to go forth, go forward without hesitation and ensuring that the threat is either eliminated or stopped," Duran told Wagner in the investigation.
Duran was also current with his agency firearm qualification, according to the investigation. He last completed the training on June 8, 2023 with iron sights and again on Sept. 7, 2023 with the pistol mounted optic sight.
"Hesitation can lead to more violent offenses," Duran said during the investigation. "The whole purpose is to stop the violent offenses."
Additional trainings Duran completed include active assailant refresher training on Oct. 22, 2023, Florida Criminal Justice Executive Institute (FCJEI) discriminatory profiling training on Oct. 25, 2023, FCJEI domestic violence training on Nov. 4, 2023 and active shooter training on Nov. 11, 2023.
Duran has a bachelor's degree in criminal psychology. He is about halfway through a human service counseling master's degree with a focus on crisis response and trauma.
Newsweek reached out to Duran over phone and email but did not receive a response. Communication with his attorney John Whitaker was also not immediately returned.
How Roger Fortson's death happened
Duran responded to a disturbance call around 4:30 p.m. on May 3 at an apartment complex in Racetrack Road.
According to the sheriff's office's investigation, Duran had responded to calls in the apartment complex previously. None were to apartment number 1401.
Sheriff's records show another unit in the apartment complex, 1412, has had repeated domestic calls, several welfare checks and an EMS call for a "hemorrhage," as reported by the Miami Herald. Deputies were called to the 1412 apartment 10 times since August 2023.
Duran admitted in the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Department's investigation that he did not hear any signs of disturbance while walking toward Fortson's apartment.
In bodycam video, Duran is seen in the apartment complex on Racetrack Road asking, "What's going on."
He asked if a "fight is going on or something." He meets with a woman who said fighting happens "frequently but this time it was sounding like it was getting out of hand."
When the officer asked what door, the woman said, "I'm not sure." She later says apartment 1401 - which was Fortson's apartment number.
Duran said in the investigation that she confirmed the location multiple times.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump played the police radio audio for the audience during a recent press conference. The dispatch officer was unable to provide information beyond that the incident involved a male and female.
Duran said in the sheriff's office's investigation that he hid "using the doorframe as a form of cover" in order to prevent himself from getting directly hit "should there by any sort of gunshot violence or coming through the doorframe."
He said his training taught him to be "cognizant of where the doorway is," especially if there "is a possibility of danger standing in that doorway."
Duran said he heard a muffled voice coming from inside Fortson's apartment. He said he heard the word "police" but nothing else clearly. He later said in the investigation that he heard "f---ing police."
Fortson's girlfriend, whose name is redacted from the investigation, denied hearing Fortson make any statements like that while she was on FaceTime with him.
Duran claimed he announced himself and that "it's very clear and apparent."
"As soon as the door opens, I see the individual open the door and he's moving in," Duran said in the investigation. "I tell him step back. He's starting to move forward."
Duran said Fortson was not complying. He said Fortson's eyes showed "aggression, anger" and a gun was in his hands.
"I immediately see the grip that he has on it, which is a standard pistol grip," Duran said in the investigation. "Immediately I thought I am stuck in this area and I'm about to get shot."
The sheriff's office said in a press release that Duran had confirmed Fortson did not "physically resist him in any way." The investigation also concluded Fortson did not point the gun in Duran's direction.
"He doesn't know how to put aggression in his eyes," said Chantemekki Fortson, the senior airman's mother, in a press conference Monday morning.
Fortson had told Duran that the gun was not in his possession.
"I couldn't hear anything," Duran said. "I couldn't really understand it."
Duran said he thought there was still a threat in the apartment after Fortson was on the ground and EMS had been called. He said he couldn't go into the home to help Fortson.
Fortson was eventually taken to a local hospital, where he died.
"That was something that I had hoped that would never happen," Duran said.
Who was Roger Fortson?
Fortson was assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla., according to the Air Force. He entered active duty on Nov. 19, 2019.
He was a combat veteran, taking part in a special operations mission in Syria. Fortson was awarded the Air Medal with a Combat Device in 2023.
Hundreds of mourners paid their respects for the senior airman at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia on May 17 as he was laid to rest. Over 1,600 people watched the two-hour service on YouTube. Pastor Jamal Bryant said the funeral was streamed globally at all Air Force bases.
A section of the church was filled with military personnel honoring Fortson.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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