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Lawyer demands 'accountability' after ex-deputy who shot Black airman is acquitted · GNN Daily Breaking News

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: An attorney representing the family of Roger Fortson called for
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  Speaker 1: immediate federal accountability and civil rights intervention after a Florida
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: jury acquitted a former Okaloosa County Sheriff's deputy in the
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  Speaker 1: fatal shooting of the 23-year-old, Black senior airman. Following a
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: multi-day trial, the jury found former deputy Eddie Durand not
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: guilty of manslaughter in connection with the May 2024 shooting
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: at Fortson's off-base apartment in Fort Walton Beach. Family attorney
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: Ben Crump forcefully criticized the verdict during a press conference
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: outside the courthouse, asserting that the state justice system failed
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  Speaker 1: to deliver basic protection for an active-duty serviceman shot inside
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: his own home while legally holding a registered firearm. The
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: fatal encounter occurred after Duran responded to a call regarding
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: a domestic disturbance at the apartment complex, mistakenly arriving at
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  Speaker 1: Fortson's door based on inaccurate directions from a leasing manager.
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  Speaker 1: Body camera footage played extensively during the trial showed Duran
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: knocking multiple times and identifying himself before Fortson, who was
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  Speaker 1: alone in his living room on a video call with
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  Speaker 1: his girlfriend, opened the door holding a handgun pointed downward
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: at his side. Seconds after the door opened, Duran discharged
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: his service weapon six times, fatally wounding the airman. While
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  Speaker 1: defense attorneys argued that Duran acted in reasonable fear for
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  Speaker 1: his life when confronting an armed individual, Prosecutors maintained that
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: the former officer acted with reckless disregard and failed to
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  Speaker 1: provide any verbal instructions before opening fire. In the wake
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  Speaker 1: of the state court acquittal, civil rights organizations and Fortson's
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: family urged the United States Department of Justice to initiate
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  Speaker 1: an independent federal civil rights investigation. Crump emphasized that federal
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: intervention remains the sole remaining pathway to evaluate whether Duran
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: violated Fortson's constitutional rights under color of law. While the
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office previously terminated Duran after an internal
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: investigation concluded his use of force was objectively unreasonable, family
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: members reiterated that administrative dismissal alone is insufficient. As public
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: protests assemble across Florida and outside federal facilities, the Ehrmans
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  Speaker 1: family pledged to continue advocating for federal charges and comprehensive
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  Speaker 1: law enforcement reform.