OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. — The deputy who shot and killed U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson on May 3 has been fired following an internal investigation.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office found that the deputy’s “use of deadly force was not objectively reasonable and therefore violated agency policy,” according to its findings from an internal investigation.
The report from the sheriff’s office is about 29 pages and it goes into depth about the course of action, the process of going through bodycam footage and an interview with the deputy, WJHP reported. That deputy was identified as Eddie Duran.
As a result of the internal investigation, Duran was fired, The Associated Press reported.
The sheriff’s office said Fortson, 23, died at a Fort Walton Beach, Florida, hospital after he was shot by an Okaloosa County Sheriff’s officer at an apartment complex, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is continuing a criminal investigation into the matter, the AP reported.
“This tragic incident should have never occurred,” Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden said. “The objective facts do not support the use of deadly force as an appropriate response to Mr. Fortson’s actions. Mr. Fortson did not commit any crime. By all accounts, he was an exceptional airman and individual.”
The full administrative internal affairs investigation can be found on the sheriff’s office website.
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