Concerned citizens filled the pews of the Greater Peace Missionary Baptist Church Monday night for a town hall meeting following the not guilty verdict of Eddie Duran.
The public meeting was organized by the Okaloosa NAACP to present a call to action after last week’s verdict in which Duran was found not guilty of manslaughter for the fatal shooting of Senior Airman Roger Fortson.
Okaloosa NAACP President Sabu Williams said he was “shocked” by Duran’s testimony that he saw aggression in Fortson’s eyes and feared for his life.
“That is not a reason to kill someone in this country,” said Williams. “He (Fortson) was just standing there. That’s the scary part.”
Some took the mic to share their frustrations of the jury, which was all male and seemingly all white.
“I wanted to give the jury the benefit of the doubt, but I don’t believe the right call was made,” said Nick Smith, who has been a strong advocate for the Fortson family. “I’m a strong supporter of law enforcement. I would’ve been upset if it was a law enforcement officer shot in the same way.”
One of the calls for action is proposed legislation that calls for accountability and transparency of law enforcement. Sonya Faison-Vasquez, secretary of the Okaloosa NAACP, presented a draft of the Law Enforcement Hiring Accountability and Community Protection Act — called Roger Fortson’s Law.
The law calls for mandatory and thorough background checks of officers, a standardized system for sharing disciplinary findings or misconduct, hiring restrictions, independent oversights and public reporting.
Faison-Vasquez followed the story of Roger Fortson “since day one,” she said. She became close with Fortson’s mother, Meka.
“Their family became my family,” she said.
Faison-Vasquez said she was disappointed by the lack of support for Fortson in the community as he was active-duty military. And she’s concerned by the recent news about 26-year-old Senior Airman Tamera Moniq Bolden-Cleckley from Boerne, Texas, who was found inside of a burned car last month on the Eglin Test and Training Range Complex near Eglin Air Force Base.
Though Roger’s death and the death of Senior Airman Bolden-Cleckley are not related, they shouldn’t be ignored, said Faison-Vasquez.
“This is time for you to take a stand,” she said. “Do not wait until it comes knocking on your front door.”
Congressional candidate and gun violence prevention activistGay Valimont, who is running against incumbent Jimmy Patronis, said she wants to see an end to qualified immunity. Duran’s defense team filed for immunity under Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law, which was denied by Judge William Stone.
Fort Walton Beach Police Chief Robert Bage was at the town hall. He spoke to the group saying he was there to listen.
“I think the best thing that can be done in this community is for the community to come out and become engaged in their local police department,” he said after the meeting. “Many times we do events and the attendance numbers are small. It’s not my police department. The community really needs to put their fingerprints on the police department.”
The town hall conversations will continue. The organization is planning to have a closed meeting with law enforcement before planning another public meeting.
“The next job in this community is to make sure no one gets shot,” said Williams. “I don’t care what color they are, by a police officer or anyone else. Amen?”
