Jury Selection Begins in Manslaughter Trial of Ex-Okaloosa Deputy in Death of Airman Roger Fortson

Jury selection began Monday in Crestview in the manslaughter trial of former Okaloosa County sheriff's deputy Eddie Duran, who is charged in the May 2024 shooting death of U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson inside the airman's Fort Walton Beach apartment. The trial, more than two years in the making, is one of the most closely watched police use-of-force prosecutions in Florida.

Duran, who was fired by the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office after an internal investigation, is charged with manslaughter with a firearm, a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison. He has pleaded not guilty and has maintained that he fired because he feared for his life. Like any defendant, he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case reaches a jury after Circuit Judge William Stone denied Duran's bid for immunity under Florida's self-defense law earlier this month, ruling that the defense failed to present a prima facie claim of self-defense immunity. That ruling cleared the last major pretrial hurdle and sent the case to trial at the Okaloosa County Courthouse in Crestview.

What happened on May 3, 2024

Fortson, 23, was assigned to the special operations wing at Hurlburt Field, the Air Force Special Operations Command installation near Fort Walton Beach. On May 3, 2024, Duran was dispatched to the Chez Elan apartments to investigate a reported argument and possible domestic disturbance.

Investigators later determined that the reported disturbance at Fortson's residence was unfounded. Fortson was alone in his apartment when Duran knocked on the door.

Fortson answered the door holding a handgun. In body camera video released by the Sheriff's Office, the airman appeared to hold the gun pointed at the floor and did not threaten Duran with it. Duran fired within seconds of the door opening, fatally wounding Fortson.

Duran has testified that he feared for his life when he saw the weapon and fired. That account is at the center of the defense and is expected to be tested before the jury against the body camera footage and other evidence.

The charge and the prosecution

In August 2024, State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden of the First Judicial Circuit announced that her office had filed a charge of manslaughter with a firearm against Eddie Lee Duran Jr. arising from the May 3 shooting. The First Circuit covers Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties.

Manslaughter under Florida law is an unlawful killing without premeditation. It is ordinarily a second-degree felony, but Florida's firearm reclassification statute elevates it to a first-degree felony when a gun is used, which is why Duran faces a maximum of 30 years.

The prosecution is being handled by Assistant State Attorney Mark Alderman, according to reports on scheduling hearings. Duran is represented by defense attorney Michael Flowers.

Before Duran was charged, the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office concluded an administrative investigation that found his use of deadly force violated agency policy, and he was terminated. The criminal case asks a different question: whether the state can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the shooting was an unlawful killing under Florida law.

The self-defense immunity fight

Florida's self-defense statutes allow a defendant to seek pretrial immunity from prosecution by claiming justified use of force. Once a defendant raises a prima facie claim, the burden shifts to the state to overcome it by clear and convincing evidence at a pretrial hearing.

Duran pursued that route. At a hearing this summer, he testified in support of his motion to dismiss, and his defense argued that he acted reasonably when confronted with an armed man at the door.

In an order issued in mid-September, Stone denied the motion, finding that Duran had failed to present a prima facie claim of self-defense immunity. In the order, the judge wrote that the display of a firearm is considered non-deadly force as a matter of law, a key distinction because Florida's standard for using deadly force requires a reasonable belief that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm.

A follow-up ruling reported on Sept. 22 confirmed that the case would move forward to trial. The immunity denial does not prevent Duran from arguing self-defense to the jury, which will be instructed on the law of justifiable use of deadly force.

A long road to trial

The case has been repeatedly delayed. Fortson's mother has said publicly that the case was delayed as many as 17 times, and advocates for the family have pressed for accountability as the months passed. In March 2026, Stone set the fall trial date after hearing from both sides.

At that scheduling hearing, the defense, the prosecution and the judge set aside three days for the trial, and attorneys said they would need a pool of about 200 potential jurors to seat a panel. The size of the pool reflects the extensive publicity the case has received in the Panhandle and nationally.

Jury selection in high-profile cases often focuses on what prospective jurors have seen or heard about the shooting, including the widely circulated body camera video, and on attitudes toward law enforcement and gun ownership. Okaloosa County is home to Eglin Air Force Base and Hurlburt Field, meaning many potential jurors have ties to the military or to local law enforcement.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump represented the Fortson family in the months after the shooting and held news conferences calling for accountability. According to published accounts, a civil suit filed against the apartment complex over how it handled the complaint that brought the deputy to the property was later dismissed.

Why the case resonates in Florida

The shooting drew national attention because Fortson, a Black airman, was killed in his own home while legally possessing a firearm, and because the reported disturbance that brought the deputy to his door turned out to be unfounded. Gun rights advocates and civil rights groups alike have pointed to the case as a test of how Florida law treats lawful gun owners who answer the door armed.

Florida has broad self-defense protections, including the stand your ground law and the procedure that lets defendants seek immunity before trial. Those same protections apply to law enforcement officers charged with crimes, and use-of-force cases involving officers are relatively rare to reach a jury in Florida.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office released the body camera footage in the days after the shooting and later concluded its internal review with Duran's firing, a step that preceded the criminal charge by several months.

For military families along the Emerald Coast, the case has been especially personal. Fortson was a special operations airman stationed at one of the region's two major Air Force installations, and his death reverberated through a community where the Air Force is a major employer and a central part of local life.

How Florida law treats force by officers

Florida law gives law enforcement officers specific authority to use force in the course of their duties. Under state statute, an officer is justified in using force that he or she reasonably believes necessary to defend against bodily harm while making an arrest, but deadly force remains limited to situations involving an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm.

The judge's September ruling drew a line that could matter at trial. By treating the mere display of a firearm as non-deadly force as a matter of law, the court signaled that a person holding a gun, without more, does not automatically create the imminent deadly threat that would justify shooting.

The defense has argued that the analysis must account for what an officer perceives in a split second at a doorway on a possible domestic call. How jurors weigh those competing frames, the legal standard and the officer's perception, is likely to decide the case.

Prosecutions of Florida officers for on-duty shootings remain uncommon, and convictions are rarer still. The outcome in Crestview will be closely watched by law enforcement agencies, civil rights advocates and gun owners across the state.

Who Roger Fortson was

Fortson served as a special missions aviator with the 4th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, a unit that flies the AC-130J gunship. He was from the Atlanta area and was 23 when he died.

Air Force officials publicly mourned his death in the days after the shooting, and his family has continued to speak out and press for accountability as the case moved slowly through the courts.

Fortson legally owned the handgun he was holding when he opened the door, according to his family's attorneys. That fact has made the case a touchstone for Second Amendment advocates who argue that law-abiding gun owners should not be treated as threats simply for being armed in their own homes.

What jurors will weigh

The state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Duran intentionally committed an act that caused Fortson's death and that the killing was not justifiable or excusable. Prosecutors are expected to rely heavily on the body camera video showing how quickly the shooting occurred after the door opened and the position of Fortson's gun.

The defense is expected to argue that Duran reasonably believed he faced an imminent deadly threat when an armed man opened the door during what he understood to be a possible domestic violence call. Duran's own account of what he saw and feared is likely to be central.

Jurors may also be instructed on lesser offenses, depending on how the evidence develops and what the parties request. Any verdict must be unanimous under Florida law.

What's next

Once a jury is seated at the Okaloosa County Courthouse in Crestview, the trial will move to opening statements, followed by testimony from investigators, witnesses and experts. With three days originally allotted, a verdict could come within the week, although high-profile trials often run longer than scheduled.

If Duran is convicted of manslaughter with a firearm, he would face up to 30 years in prison at sentencing. If he is acquitted, the criminal case would end, though the shooting has already carried professional consequences through his termination.

The Florida Press will update this story as the trial proceeds.