FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. – A judge on Thursday granted parole to a Florida sheriff's deputy who was fired and charged with manslaughter after he senior US Air Force aviator at the black man's apartment door.
Former Okaloosa County Sheriff Eddie Duran, 38, faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of manslaughter with a firearm, a rare charge against a police officer in Florida.
Duran's body camera recorded him shooting 23-year-old Roger Fortson of metro Atlanta on May 3, immediately after Fortson opened the door while holding a gun pointed at the ground.
Thursday's hearing took place before Judge Terrance R. Ketchel, who was appointed trial judge in Duran's case.
Duran was taken into custody Thursday's detention hearing came despite arguments from his lawyer on Tuesday, who said there was no reason to put him in prison.
“They know he's going to show up,” attorney Rod Smith said Tuesday. “We believe he's not a risk, not a flight risk.”
Duran was arrested on Monday.
Authorities said Duran was sent to Fortson's Fort Walton Beach apartment because of 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 before ordering Fortson to drop the gun.
On Friday, the day the charges were announced, candles and framed photos of Fortson in uniform adorned the door of the apartment where he was killed.
According to the internal investigation report into the shooting, 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.”
Okaloosa 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 should not shoot just because a possible suspect is holding a gun if there is no threat.
Fortson's family and civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents Fortson's family, had denied that the deputy sheriff acted in self-defense.
Crump said Fortson was shot six times.
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