Roger Fortson

Roger Fortson, a 23-year-old Black U.S. Air Force airman, was shot and killed by Okaloosa County Sheriff's Deputy Eddie Duran at the door of his Fort Walton Beach apartment on May 3, 2024. Duran had been sent to the complex on a report that proved false; body-camera video shows him knocking, identifying himself, and firing when Fortson opened the door holding a legally owned handgun pointed at the floor. The sheriff's office first said Duran acted in self-defense, then concluded his life was not in danger and fired him. Duran was charged with manslaughter with a firearm and, on October 1, 2026, a jury found him not guilty. No one has been convicted in Fortson's death.

Fort Walton Beach, FL · Okaloosa County

• 2024: Case opens — victim reported missing or found.
• Documented milestones (renewed investigation, media coverage, family advocacy) to be added as sourced.
• Present: case remains unresolved. No named suspect has been convicted.

• The shooting, the charge and the acquittal, per reporting by FOX 5 Atlanta, Good Morning America, Task & Purpose, and La Nación.
• Fortson, 23, was shot on May 3, 2024, in his apartment in Fort Walton Beach, Okaloosa County, Florida; he was a member of the 4th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field and was alone, on the phone with his girlfriend, when deputy Eddie Duran came to his door.
• Duran was dispatched on a reported domestic disturbance, which authorities later found was false; Duran's attorney described the visit as a response to a neighbor's complaint, and Task & Purpose described it as a noise complaint.
• Body-camera video shows Duran knocking, identifying himself, and shouting “Step back!” before shooting when Fortson opened the door holding a semiautomatic pistol that he legally owned. Task & Purpose reported that Duran shot him five times and that the video shows the gun was not pointed at the deputy; Good Morning America reported most of the shots hit Fortson's left arm.
• The sheriff's office first said Duran “reacted in self-defense” after encountering a 23-year-old man with a gun. An internal investigation later found his decision to shoot was not objectively reasonable and that his life was not in danger, and he was fired less than a month after the shooting.
• Duran was charged with one count of manslaughter with a firearm, which carried up to 30 years in prison, and pleaded not guilty.
• At trial, prosecutor Mark Alderman argued Fortson posed “no threat” with his gun pointed at the ground; defense attorney Rod Smith argued Duran faced an imminent threat and followed his training, and Duran testified that he thought he was going to die when the door opened.
• A jury found Duran not guilty, reported on Thursday, October 1, 2026. Prosecutors said they respected the verdict and believed the case warranted a jury.
• Fortson's family, represented by attorney Ben Crump, has filed a federal civil rights suit against Duran, former Sheriff Eric Aden and others, according to La Nación and FOX 5 Atlanta (Task & Purpose said the family intended to file one).

• The exact origin of the call that brought Duran to Fortson's door: sources describe it variously as a domestic-disturbance report that proved false, a noise complaint, and a neighbor's complaint.
• The jury's reasoning, the length of its deliberations and its vote are not reported in the sources reviewed.
• The outcome of the family's federal civil rights suit is not reported in the sources reviewed.

• FOX 5 Atlanta — “Ex-deputy acquitted in killing of airman Roger Fortson”
• Good Morning America — “Former sheriff's deputy Eddie Duran found not guilty of manslaughter”
• Task & Purpose — “Florida deputy acquitted in trial over shooting of Air Force special ops airman”
• La Nación (AP) — “Jury acquits fired Florida sheriff's deputy in killing of Black U.S. Air Force airman Roger Fortson”
• Project Cold Case
• Murder Accountability Project
• NamUs