Randall Kerrick Trial Verdict: N.C. Cop Not Guilty After Shooting Unarmed Car Crash Survivor Jonathan Ferrell [Video]
The Randall Kerrick trial verdict has come in, and jurors have declared that the North Carolina police officer is not guilty of voluntary manslaughter charges. The cop was arrested and indicted after Kerrick shot Florida A&M University football player Jonathan Ferrell 10 times. The FAMU player was looking for help after surviving a car crash, but based upon the circumstances the police officers mistook Ferrell for a thief.
In a related report by the Inquisitr, reports from 2013 note that Jonathan Ferrell walked half a mile while barefoot to knock on the door of a stranger’s home in Charlotte. Former Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe said the woman inside the home was alarmed since Ferrell was knocking on the door in the middle of the night.
“To her surprise, it was an individual she did not know or recognize,” Monroe said. “She immediately closed the door, hit her panic alarm, called 911.”
Three police officers responded to the 911 call, including Randall Kerrick and Adam Neal. The police dash cam video shows how the cops yelled “Get on the ground!” several times before the fatal shots went off. It’s also claimed that Ferrell powered through a Taser shot or dodged it.
“[Jonathan Ferrell] immediately charged toward the three officers, one in particular,” Monroe explained. “[Randall Kerrick] in particular fired his weapon several times, striking the individual multiple times.”
Last week, the Randall Kerrick trial deadlocked. Eight of the jurors believed Kerrick to be not guilty, while four of them said he was guilty. According to WBTV, Judge Robert C. Ervin declared a mistrial in the jury had reached an unbreakable impasse.
Attorney General Roy Cooper said his office decided to drop the charges against the North Carolina cop, but they also felt bringing Kerrick to trial was the right thing to do.
“Officers must be held accountable when they do not follow their training, as what happened here with tragic results,” Cooper said. “I understand the frustration. Our prosecutors were frustrated, but I think it’s important that we listen to the jury.”
Kerrick’s attorney, George Laughrun, talked about Kerrick’s response to the not guilty verdict.
“I talked to him briefly and he was obviously thrilled with the news. (He was) a little suspect because of what happened with the grand jury when they didn’t indict him, but he is ready to obviously move on,” Laughrun said.
The victim’s family also spoke out publicly after the decision was announced in the Randall Kerrick trial.
“As my brother is dead in the grave, I am fighting,” Willie Ferrell said Friday. “Jonathan was an innocent bystander.”
Jonathan Ferrell’s family previously filed a lawsuit against the city, county, CMPD, and former Police Chief Rodney Monroe. The case was settled in 2015 for $2.25 million. But the investigation of Randall Kerrick’s actions is not over. According to WSOC, “CMPD Internal Affairs will conduct an investigation to determine if Kerrick followed all department policies and procedures.”
[Image via Jist News]
