ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - A well-known civil rights attorney and the family of a Georgia airman killed by a Florida deputy announced a lawsuit against the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) and the former deputy involved.

Roger Fortson, 23, was killed on May 3 by an OCSO deputy in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. The deputy was later identified as Eddie Duran, who was later charged with manslaughter with a firearm.

The airman answered the door to his apartment while holding a legally-owned handgun pointed toward the floor. He was killed within seconds, body camera video showed.

RELATED: Body camera video shows fatal shooting of Black airman by Florida deputy in apartment doorway, attorney says

According to investigators, Duran was at the apartment in response to a domestic disturbance report that turned out to be false.

The sheriff’s office initially alleged the deputy “reacted in self-defense after he encountered a 23-year-old man armed with a gun,” the sheriff’s office said the day of the shooting.

Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden later fired Duran, saying his life was never in danger and that he should not have fired his weapon.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Lawyer and family of U.S. Air Force airman killed by Florida deputy demand that he face charges

The manslaughter charge is a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Fortson’s family and Crump spoke about the lawsuit at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

You can read the full lawsuit below:

“This was a catastrophic failure on every level: By a deputy who used unjustifiable force, by a sheriff’s office that failed to train its officers properly, and by an apartment employee whose reckless assumptions set this deadly chain of events into motion,” Crump said in a statement. “Roger Fortson was a proud service member, a loving son, and a young man with his whole life ahead of him. He deserved to feel safe in his own home. Instead, he was killed where he should have been safest, based on hearsay and bias. This lawsuit is about justice for Roger and accountability for those responsible for his needless death.”

Watch Atlanta News First LIVE and on-demand on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, YouTube Live, and the FREE Atlanta News First app.

LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE

You can find the Atlanta News First podcast on several platforms:

Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music | iHeartRadio | YouTube

Copyright 2025 WANF. All rights reserved.