Judge denies bail to fired deputy sheriff after fatal shooting of black pilot

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A judge on Tuesday denied bail to a fired deputy in connection with the shooting death of a black senior U.S. Air Force soldier who opened his apartment door with a gun pointed at the ground.

Former Okaloosa County Deputy Eddie Duran, 38, has been charged with manslaughter with a firearm in the May 3 shooting death of 23-year-old Roger Fortson. This rare charge against a police officer in Florida is a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

The judge ordered his detention pending a detention hearing on Thursday, despite objections from his lawyer, who said he should be released immediately.

“They know he's going to show up,” said attorney Rod Smith. “We believe he's not a risk, not a flight risk. He'll show up on Thursday, he'll show up any time, he doesn't have to spend the next few days in jail.”

The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office initially said Duran fired in self-defense after encountering a man 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 possible suspect is holding a gun if there is no threat.

Fortson had been talking to his girlfriend over a FaceTime video call, where audio of the encounter was recorded, and video from Duran's body camera showed what happened.

Duran had been dispatched to Fortson's Fort Walton Beach apartment for filing a domestic disturbance report that turned out to be false. After repeated knocks, Fortson opened the door while holding his gun down. Authorities say Duran shot him multiple times, only then ordering Fortson to drop the gun.

According to the internal investigation report, Duran told investigators that when Fortson opened the door, he saw aggression in the pilot's eyes. He said he fired because “I'm standing there thinking I'm about to get shot, I'm about to die.”

Weeks passed after the shooting before the sheriff released an incident report, 911 records or the officer's identity, despite requests for the information under Florida's Open Records Act and pressure from the family's attorney, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump.

The fatal shooting of the pilot in his home outside the base in the Florida Panhandle was just one of many cases in which black people have been killed by police in their own homes while going about their daily lives. Fortson's death also sparked debate over whether Florida's “Stand Your Ground” law has fostered a climate of “shoot first” vigilantism in which gun owners kill predominantly black people with impunity.

Hundreds of Air Force members in blue uniforms joined Fortson's family, friends and others at his funeral at a megachurch in suburban Atlanta.

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