FORT WALTON BEACH, Florida, USA. —
A judge on Tuesday denied bail to a police officer in the shooting death of a senior U.S. Air Force airman who answered the door to his apartment holding a pistol pointed at the floor.
Former Okaloosa County Sheriff Eddie Duran, 38, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter with a firearm in the May 3 death of 23-year-old Roger Fortson. The rare charge against a Florida law enforcement officer is a felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
The judge ordered him detained until Thursday, when a pre-trial detention hearing will be held, despite objections from his lawyer, who said the defendant should be released immediately.
“They know he’s going to show up,” said attorney Rod Smith. “We think he poses no risk, no flight risk. He’ll show up Thursday, he’ll show up any day now; he doesn’t need to spend any time in jail over the next few days.”
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Department initially said Duran fired in self-defense after encountering a man armed with a gun, but Sheriff Eric Aden fired Duran on May 31 after an internal investigation concluded his life was not in danger when he opened fire. Outside law enforcement experts have also said an officer cannot shoot just because a potential suspect is holding a gun if there is no threat.
Fortson had been speaking to his girlfriend on a FaceTime video call, where audio of the encounter was recorded, and Duran’s body camera showed what happened.
Duran had been dispatched to Fortson’s Fort Walton Beach apartment in response to a report of domestic violence that turned out to be false. After several knocks on the door, Fortson opened it, holding his gun at his side and pointing it downward. Authorities say Duran fired several shots and only then told Fortson to drop the gun.
