The former Florida sheriff’s deputy facing manslaughter charges for shooting and killing U.S. Airman Roger Fortson is now invoking the stand your ground defense to justify killing the Black man in his own doorway.
But if anyone had the right to stand their ground, it was Fortson, said his mother, Meka Fortson, in a phone interview with Atlanta Black Star.
“You can’t use ‘stand your ground’ when he’s in his domain,” she said. “That shouldn’t even be tried because first of all, you were standing out in the breezeway; Roger was standing in his house. Stand your ground should be used for Roger.”
Attempt to Justify
Former Okaloosa County sheriff’s deputy Eddie Duran shot and killed Fortson on May 3, 2024, while responding to a domestic violence call, firing within two seconds of Fortson opening the door while holding a legally owned gun pointed downward.
On July 6, Duran filed a 53-page motion to dismiss the case, packed with statements from “experts” — actually former cops — claiming Duran acted in “reasonable fear of imminent death or great bodily injury to himself” when he opened fire.
“It’s definitely a delay tactic,” Fortson said.
She said one of the experts is an 84-year-old man too ill to testify in court.
“How can you say you have this expert witness, but he can’t even come to the courthouse?” she asked.
The motion states that “it is the expert opinion of three retained defense experts that Deputy Duran’s use of deadly force in this case was consistent with his training and experience as a law enforcement officer.”
Judge William Stone will rule on the motion to dismiss in early August. Duran’s trial is scheduled for Sept. 28 – more than two years after the shooting.
The Experts
Cops routinely rely on “expert” witnesses to convince juries a shooting was justified – but these experts are usually former officers who charge defendants hundreds of dollars an hour.
Dr. George L. Kirkham, a criminology professor, joined the police academy in 1973 and spent the next 18 years moonlighting as a cop at four Florida agencies before becoming a law enforcement consultant. He’d be about 84 today.
Kevin Williams spent 28 years at the Orlando Police Department before retiring and becoming an “expert witness/consultant.”
Massad Ayoob spent 43 years with the Grantham Police Department in New Hampshire, retiring in 2017 – but he’s worked as an expert witness since 1979.
Lewis “Von” Kliem spent 30 years in various law enforcement roles, according to his website, which doesn’t name his employers.
All four claim Duran shot Fortson in self-defense, leaning on hypotheticals.
Kirkham argues domestic violence calls rank among the most dangerous for police, so Duran had the right to shoot Fortson – even though Fortson was alone in the apartment.
Williams argues Duran was justified because he stood in a breezeway less than six feet wide with little room to maneuver, despite having open space on either side of him.
Ayoob argues the shooting was justified because Fortson could have raised his gun and fired within two seconds — which is exactly what Duran did instead.
Kliem argues it was justified because Fortson opened the door holding a gun, insisting Fortson knew a cop stood outside.
However, body camera video shows that even though Duran yelled out, “sheriff’s office, open the door,” he stood to the side of the door, making it impossible for Fortson to confirm he was an actual deputy, which he said he did for “officer safety.”
The Shooting
Body camera video shows Duran waited about 20 seconds before knocking and heard no sounds from within the apartment.
The motion also details how Duran was relying on third-party information when he was directed to Fortson’s apartment: the leasing agent for the complex was relaying information from the neighbor living below Fortson that an argument was taking place.
Duran claimed he understood the dangers of responding to domestic violence calls but did not wait for backup, which arrived 90 seconds after he shot Fortson.
Fortson, meanwhile, was on FaceTime with his girlfriend when Duran began knocking on the door. Duran was careful to stay out of view of the peephole.
When Fortson opened the door with the gun in his right hand pointed downward, Duran drew his weapon, yelled “step back,” and fired five shots.
In the milliseconds before he was shot, Fortson lifted his left hand with the palm pointed outward, which his mother says is the “universal sign for a parent, a crossing guard, a police officer” to stop.
She said that was his way of signaling he was not a threat, and it makes sense considering he could have lifted his right hand – the one holding the gun – instead.
“If he had given him five seconds, Roger would still be alive today,” she said.
But Duran waited less than two seconds, later claiming he saw “aggression” in Fortson’s eyes.
Watch the video below.
