Roger Fortson’s mother says all-white jury denied son a fair shot before deputy’s acquittal

Chantemekki “Meka” Fortson says race influenced the verdict after six white male jurors cleared former deputy Eddie Duran of manslaughter.

Roger Fortson’s mother says the all-white jury that acquitted former Florida sheriff’s deputy Eddie Duran never gave her son’s case a fair chance.

Duran’s acquittal came after a four-day manslaughter trial and about two hours of deliberations, more than two years after Duran fatally shot the 23-year-old Black Air Force senior airman. The case drew national attention after body-camera footage showed Fortson opening his apartment door with a handgun pointed toward the floor and culminated in Duran’s not-guilty verdict.

Atlanta Black Star reported that Chantemekki “Meka” Fortson said the final jury consisted of six white men. She told the outlet she believed her son’s race influenced the verdict and said she felt Black jurors should have been part of the panel.

Fortson said she collapsed in the courtroom after hearing the verdict and did not remember what happened until relatives were helping her outside. She also questioned how jurors could fully assess the evidence after deliberating for roughly two hours.

Duran shot Fortson on May 3, 2024, after responding to a reported domestic disturbance at the Fort Walton Beach apartment complex where Fortson lived. The report turned out to be false, and Fortson was alone inside his apartment.

Body-camera video showed Fortson answering the door while holding his legally owned handgun down at his side. Duran fired five shots within seconds. The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office later fired him after an internal investigation concluded Fortson made no hostile or attacking movements and that Duran’s use of deadly force was not objectively reasonable under agency policy.

At trial, Duran’s attorneys argued he acted in self-defense and according to his training. Prosecutors argued that Fortson’s possession of a gun did not itself justify deadly force. The jury found Duran not guilty of manslaughter with a firearm.

Duran’s acquittal ended the criminal case, but the family’s federal civil-rights lawsuit remains pending. Fortson told Atlanta Black Star she now hopes that case can provide some measure of justice.

She also rejected claims that her son was dangerous because he answered the door armed, saying he legally owned the gun, did not point it at Duran, and had his hand away from the trigger.

Fortson said her broader concern is the way Black people are often viewed as threatening before they are treated as vulnerable or worthy of protection.