On the 26th, the US police arrested Eddie Duran, a former police officer in Okaloosa County, Florida, who was suspected of violent law enforcement resulting in death. The latter was accused of shooting and killing an African-American Air Force soldier without being threatened in substance.
According to the Associated Press, Florida prosecutors charged Duran with murder on the 23rd. The charge is a first-degree felony with a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. Duran was detained on the 26th and will appear in court for the first time via video on the morning of the 27th.
According to law enforcement, Duran was sent to the apartment of Air Force soldier Roger Fortson on May 3 to handle a domestic dispute call. The video recorded by the law enforcement recorder showed that Fortson opened the door after Duran knocked repeatedly, holding a gun in his hand with the muzzle pointing down at the ground. Duran fired several shots at Fortson before telling him to put down his weapon.
Fordson, 23, is an active-duty Air Force private first class stationed at Hurlburt Field Air Force Base in Florida.
When Duran was later questioned by investigators, he explained that he saw aggression in Fordson's eyes when Fordson opened the door, and said he shot Fordson because "I was standing there and felt like I was going to be shot and I was going to die."
An internal investigation determined that Duran was not in danger of his life when he fired the gun. Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden fired Duran on May 31. Law enforcement experts believe that if there is no threat, police cannot shoot a suspect simply because he is holding a gun.
According to the Associated Press, police call records showed that the police had never received a call involving Fordson's apartment before, but in the past eight months, the police were called to an apartment not far from Fordson's apartment 10 times, including one domestic dispute call.
On the day prosecutors charged Duran with murder, some people placed candles and photo frames in the hallway of the apartment where the incident occurred to mourn Fordson.