A former deputy in Florida has been charged with the murder of a Black man

Prosecutors announced on Friday that a former deputy of the Florida sheriff’s department was charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of a Black man who responded to a tapping on his apartment door.

State prosecutor Greg Marcille announced via telephone that former deputy Eddie Duran, who was previously terminated by the Okaloosa County sheriff, was recently charged with the murder of Air Force airman Roger Fortson, 23, in Fort Walton Beach on May 3. A warrant for his arrest was issued by the authorities on Friday.

Duran, who was responding to a domestic violence complaint, banged on Fortson’s apartment door unannounced, as evidenced by body camera video. The deputy continued to make noisy knocks and stated that he was affiliated with the sheriff’s department on two of the occasions.

The video depicted Fortson opening the door and brandishing a handgun at his side, with the barrel pointed downward. No, he did not aim the firearm at the deputy. Duran promptly discharged his firearm at close range on numerous occasions. A local hospital was the site of Fortson’s death.

Duran, who if convicted, could be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison, was unavailable for comment at the time, and it was unclear whether or not he was being represented by an attorney.

In a written statement, Ben Crump, a noted civil rights attorney who is representing Fortson’s family, stated that this was a preliminary step toward justice.

“Nothing can ever bring Roger back, and our fight is far from over, but we are hopeful that this arrest and these charges will result in real justice for the Fortson family,” Crump stated.

Family members of Fortson maintain that the sheriff’s deputy inadvertently targeted Fortson’s residence. It has been noted that prior to the shooting, he was conversing with his fiancée via telephone, and no one else was present in the apartment.

A non-emergency sheriff’s department phone line was contacted by an individual from the apartment complex to report that they had heard a couple battling in Fortson’s apartment, according to an investigation conducted by the Okaloosa County sheriff’s department.

Fortson was engaged in a FaceTime conversation with his fiancée when he heard a knock on his door, according to Crump, the family’s attorney.. According to Crump, he inquired, “Who is it?” but did not receive a response, as mentioned by his fiancée.

Fortson then retrieved a gun that he legally possessed and proceeded to walk back through his living room toward the door, according to Crump.

The killing was reminiscent of an unannounced police search in Louisville, Kentucky, in March 2020, during which police entered the apartment of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who was an emergency medical technician, and took her life. Mistaking the apartment for the residence of a suspect, the police had obtained a “no knock” warrant to conduct a raid.

Two former police officers who were charged in connection with Taylor’s murder were granted a partial dismissal of the most severe charge by a federal magistrate on Friday.

In the summer of 2020, a global surge of protests against racism in law enforcement was initiated by the demise of Taylor and George Floyd by Minneapolis police, which occurred weeks later.