Charlotte police kill unarmed man

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/15/justice/north-carolina-police-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_t2


Charlotte police kill unarmed man who may have been running to them for help
By Jessica King and AnneClaire Stapleton, CNN
updated 11:44 AM EDT, Sun September 15, 2013

(CNN) -- Police in North Carolina shot and killed a man running toward them Saturday morning -- but he may have just been looking for help after a car wreck.

Officers responded to a "breaking and entering" 911 call at a home in Charlotte.

The homeowner told dispatchers that a man had been knocking on her door repeatedly....

I'll wait for the whole story. From what I can gather among the various msm reports, the accident was a single vehicle accident with Ferrell as the driver and only occupant (at least I haven't seen any reference to a passenger). He knocks on someone's door in the wee hours of the morning and may not have clearly requested help since the woman reported it to 911 as a B&E -- or maybe she just panicked and wasn't listening to what Ferrell was saying.

Ferrell, who was former FAMU football player (a linebacker from what I can find) is probably a largish individual. When he sees the police he runs toward them. Did they tell him to hold it before attempting to tase him? Idk, but I would think so. For whatever reason, the tase was unsuccessful. Did it hit him but still fail to stop him? If so, that would be rather alarming. Or did the taser simply misfire or not fire at all. Ferrell kept coming, regardless. Was he speaking? What was he saying.

Also, it appears that the officers were unaware of the motor vehicle accident at the time. So what they've got is a largish individual running toward them after having received a B&E report about a man fitting his description and location in the early Saturday morning hours. The man runs toward them, tasing is attempted and he keeps coming. Sounds to me like a reasonable police officer could determine that deadly force was warranted.

Just sayin' I don't know enough to conclude that the officer in question did anything wrong. And, yes, I understand the officer's been charged with voluntary manslaughter. Unfortunately, I have no faith any more that everyone charged with a crime is actually guilty of it. And I have ZERO faith in msm reporting. jmo

Oh this is horrible. Re training needs to occur, more officers need to be able to shoot in the knees. There is no reason to kill; just maime if in doubt. But that's not happening. If you cannot shoot in the knees you shouldn't be an officer in my most humble opinion. If you are that bad of a shot; you shouldn't be on the force. Too many of these cases are happening, I'm reading at least one a day in all states. Each day in the news, unarmed person, shot dead. It's so distrubing. If in doubt; I was taught to shoot to maime; not kill. GZ had this option as well. He didn't need to kill TM. Sorry of topic but one leads to another....

Pictures of the victim here:

Police shooting victim Jonathan Ferrell played college football

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/20...ctim-jonathan.html#.UjXmf8u9KSM#storylink=cpy

There are two separate threads on this, I think.

Cherry said:

Oh this is horrible. Re training needs to occur, more officers need to be able to shoot in the knees. There is no reason to kill; just maime if in doubt. But that's not happening. If you cannot shoot in the knees you shouldn't be an officer in my most humble opinion. If you are that bad of a shot; you shouldn't be on the force. Too many of these cases are happening, I'm reading at least one a day in all states. Each day in the news, unarmed person, shot dead. It's so distrubing. If in doubt; I was taught to shoot to maime; not kill. GZ had this option as well. He didn't need to kill TM. Sorry of topic but one leads to another....

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Police officers are not trained to shoot in the knees. And there is no need to bring discussion of GZ into every shooting. If mods here even see GZ mentioned they lock the thread up.

Fact is there were other officers there and the other cop is being charged with a felony. He must have been way off base in order to get charged. JMO

Steely Dan said:

Fact is there were other officers there and the other cop is being charged with a felony. He must have been way off base in order to get charged. JMO

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Yea, there have been lots of police shootings, but this is actually the first time a policeman who shot someone got charged with a felony that I know of.

I am surprised, but glad to see an officer is charged! In NC, the officers have gotten a bit "trigger happy" - and this was NOT going to turn out well had this officer not been immediately charged!

If you live here, as I do, we are well aware of this attitude of too many LE in any branch. Shoot to kill is NOT the answer, just as beating/pounding a person almost to death is not acceptable. So very sorry for this man's family - a needless death.

This is MY opinion, ideas and thoughts!

jjenny said:

Yea, there have been lots of police shootings, but this is actually the first time a policeman who shot someone got charged with a felony that I know of.

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It seems that LE will often protect their own. This makes me think that he really must have crossed the line.

September 16th, 2016:

A family still seeks justice for Jonathan Ferrell

A voluntary manslaughter charge against the officer (Officer Randall “Wes” Kerrick) was dismissed after jurors deadlocked 8-4 to acquit him.

The city paid $2.25 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the Ferrell family.

Under a settlement with Kerrick, the officer agree to leave the force and received $179,989.59 from the city

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Q. What do you think Jonathan would make of all of this?

GF (Jonathan's mother Georgia Ferrell): Jonathan would be very happy about all of this. Anger brings about nothing but more anger. When you’re angry, you’ll do the wrong thing. It was just one person who killed Jonathan, not the whole force. So let’s try to change things, so that no other parent will have to go through what I went through.

Q. Have you heard anything from the (former) officer who killed Jonathan?

GF. He never said I’m sorry. He never said anything. The officer never tried to give an apology.

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Q. How is the family working to remember Jonathan?

WF (Jonathan's brother Willie Ferrell): We have a foundation — the Jonathan A.P. Ferrell Foundation — where we give back to the city, different types of religions, all ethnic group, all different types of cultures. We do different toy drives, the foundation helps out with utilities and bills that a lot of families cannot provide for themselves.

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Q. What do you want to say to the city of Charlotte? What do you want the people to know?

GF. That we are still fighting for justice. Please get out and vote. Voting can change a number of things, who we put in office. Please vote, and don’t give up. Don’t give up, and continue to fight.

[snip]

But now justice has switched from that and to making sure that this does not happen to other families. Whenever the world changes, that’s when justice will be served, not just for our family but for the world and the country. It’s not just about Jonathan. It’s more of a broad situation.

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These are two very special people.