Roger Fortson: Mother Says Cop Keeps Delaying Trial

It has been more than two years since former Okaloosa County deputy Eddie Duran was charged with manslaughter for fatally shooting 23-year-old Black U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson inside his own home on May 3, 2024. Duran was charged in August of that year, three months after the shooting took place, so why hasn’t he had his day in court yet? Why is it taking so long for Fortson’s family to even get a shot at justice being served? Well, according to his family, Duran’s case has been delayed at least 17 times, and to add insult to injury, he’s trying to delay it again so he can go on vacation with his family.

“For me, it just seems like it’s just a way to delay tactics,” Fortson’s mother, Chantemekki “Meka” Fortson, told Atlanta Black Star, arguing that Duran’s defense team has dragged out the case to give the former deputy more time with his family, which is a luxury Fortson was robbed of, as well as his family.

“You’re not ready for trial, but you want to go on spring break with your kids. You want to go on summer vacation with your kids. You want to move to another state with your kids,” she added. “I think that’s a tactic they’re using as part of his defense.”

For those who are unfamiliar with the case, here’s a refresher from our previous reporting:

According to authorities, on May 3, Fortson was shot in his apartment moments after opening the door when former deputy Duran responded aggressively to what a witness claimed was a non-existent domestic disturbance call.

Bodycam footage captured the officer banging loudly on the door. When Fortson, possibly fearing an intruder, answered while holding his legally owned gun at his side and pointed down, Duran immediately fired, hitting Fortson six times. Despite the air forcemen’s gun being pointed down and not raised, Duran did not instruct him to drop the weapon until after the shooting. Duran reportedly said he fired because he thought he was “about to get shot” and “die.”

It apparently took an entire month for the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office to determine that the May 3 shooting death of Fortson violated department policy. Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden stated Duran’s heinous actions did not justify the use of deadly force against Fortson while civil rights attorney Ben Crump argued that the facts showed Deputy Duran violated the law.

To be clear, Duran, who was released on a $100,000 bond after spending less than a week in jail, tried to justify the shooting by claiming it was the “aggression” he saw in Fortson’s eyes that prompted him to shoot, because obviously, the only way he could justify it was by pointing to something only he could have seen, rather than what’s on camera for the rest of us to see.

“When I saw his eyes, I saw aggression,” he told the investigator. “I’m standing there thinking I’m about to get shot, I’m about to die. It is him or me at this point, and I need to act as opposed to react.”

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office initially backed his story, of course, saying in a statement at the time, “Hearing sounds of a disturbance, he reacted in self-defense after he encountered a 23-year-old man armed with a gun.” Conveniently, the sheriff’s office neglected to mention that it was a legal firearm, that it was pointed downward, and that Duran shot Fortson within seconds of him answering the door.

From Atlanta Black Star:

But the body camera video shows no “sounds of a disturbance” and no moment where Fortson threatens the deputy with his gun.

Six days after the shooting, Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden held a press conference, released the bodycam video, and falsely claimed Fortson knew a deputy was at his door.

“What we do know at this time is that the deputy did announce himself, not once but twice,” Sheriff Aden said. 

“Mr. Fortson’s comments indicate that he did acknowledge it was law enforcement at the door and he arrived at the door with a firearm in his hand.”

The video, however, shows Fortson made no such comments at the doorway.

Fortunately, on May 30 of that year, an internal affairs investigator made it clear they weren’t buying it.

“The facts and evidence show Deputy Eddie Duran’s use of deadly force against Mr. Roger Fortson was not objectively reasonable,” Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Captain Robert A. Wagner wrote in his 29-page report. This brings us back to the question of why Duran hasn’t been tried yet, and what that could mean for Fortson’s family’s fight for justice.

“My biggest fear is that hypocrisy might win, but I am hoping that he’s found guilty so it can be some accountability,” Chantemekki, who has a pending federal civil rights lawsuit against the sheriff’s office, said.

“Whatever time they give him, whatever punishment they give him, that’s on them to decide,” she continued. “I just want them to say that he was wrong for what he did to my child. I just want to hear, ‘He should not have killed Roger Fortson. Senior Airman Roger Fortson should still be alive.’ That’s all I want. I just need somebody to see how valuable my son’s life was. I want somebody to understand, my baby meant so much to me. I want somebody to understand, he was doing no wrong. He was protecting his country against foreign and domestic threats. He just did not know that the cop standing at his door was a domestic threat.”

Duran’s trial is set to begin in September. Hopefully, that remains the case…this time.

SEE ALSO:

Cop Kills USAF Officer In Own Home

Killer Florida Cop Went To Wrong Apartment: Witness

New Evidence Announced In Roger Fortson’s Police Killing

Roger Fortson’s Killer Cop Charged

Roger Fortson’s Killer Cop Finally Fired

Roger Fortson’s Family Addressing Florida Cop’s Firing

Roger Fortson: Mother Says Cop Keeps Delaying Criminal Trial was originally published on newsone.com