Family members of a special operations airman who was shot by a Florida deputy in his apartment earlier this year voiced concern Friday about the state’s investigation lagging for months and the lack of charges against the law enforcement officer.
Senior Airman Roger Fortson, who was stationed at Hurlburt Field, was shot multiple times by Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Deputy Eddie Duran on May 3 when the officer responded to a call at the 23-year-old’s apartment complex. Duran shot him six times when he saw Fortson had answered the door with his legally owned firearm to his side and pointed toward the floor.
While Duran was fired in late May after an internal affairs investigation determined that his “use of deadly force was not objectively reasonable and therefore violated agency policy,” another inquiry probing whether the officer should face criminal charges has been lingering for months. Fortson’s family and their attorney, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, said during a press conference at a church in Florida on Friday that they’re worried the delay means charges may not be brought forth and that justice won’t be served.
Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden is facing a contested election next week, on Aug. 20. Crump raised concerns that findings by the local state attorney general’s office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on whether to charge Duran could be delayed until after that date.
“You can use your common sense,” Crump said, responding to a question during the press conference about the timing of the upcoming election. “We don’t know what is the prerogative of the state attorney’s office, but you all live in this community. You all can make those decisions with more intelligence than we can.”
Crump and the family have been informed that the findings will be released just days after the election, but they’re not sure what that decision will be.
“We’re in a crucial moment in our fight to get justice for Roger Fortson,” Crump added. “We do not know what that decision will be, but we have been told that the decision will come on Aug. 23. Mark you calendars, brothers and sisters.”
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the local state attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to a Military.com request for comment asking about the timeline for releasing the findings and an update on the investigation in time for publication.
“What Roger’s parents are upset about is the possibility that local politics is the reason they have not gotten closure,” Natalie Jackson, an attorney on Crump’s team, told Military.com. “They don’t think the decision to charge should be a political one, but one of justice.”
The press conference comes just weeks after Fortson’s teenage brother, Andre, was killed in a shooting near Atlanta, Georgia, in late July.
Meanwhile, Duran is an Army veteran. He was a military police officer in the service and deployed to Iraq from May 2008 to August 2009, according to releasable information provided to Military.com by Heather Hagan, an Army spokeswoman.
He held the rank of sergeant. Duran’s time in the Army stretched from 2003 through 2014, according to the investigative report.
While body camera footage, dispatch logs and other files released by the sheriff’s office and obtained by Military.com raise questions about the unclear second- and third-hand information that led Duran to Fortson’s apartment, the findings from the internal investigation claim the officer went to the right unit, where a disturbance was reportedly underway.
Fortson was alone in his apartment, talking with his girlfriend on a FaceTime video call when Duran knocked on the door and shot him within seconds of the door opening.
Fortson’s sister, Raven Fortson, recalled during the press conference on Friday her brother’s service to the country, and said his legacy deserves to be honored and justice needs to be served.
“We deserve justice, my brother deserves justice. He spent his career, his life, protecting this country and he deserves to be honored and protected like he protected us,” she said. “Why is it taking so long? It shouldn’t take this long.”
