Ferrell, a former Florida A&M football player who had recently moved to Charlotte, wrecked his auto on a dark road after an evening out with friends. If convicted, Kerrick could face as many as 11 years in prison. It was one last chance for both sides to sway the jury.
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The trial, which began August 3, drew widespread attention from “Black Lives Matter” activists and others due to the race of the parties involved: Kerrick is white, Ferrell is black.
They accused the defense of trying to demonize Ferrell and pointed out that he was looking for help that night, not trying to burglarize a home.
The video, however, didn’t show either event, and didn’t seem to make what happened any clearer.
Kerrick’s attorneys have argued that Ferrell was moving quickly in the officer’s direction. He used the same TV screen that was used to show dashcam video that recorded the final moments before Kerrick fatally shot Ferrell.
On the video, Neal said when he arrived at the scene, Ferrell was already advancing toward officers. While acknowledging that he had been retired as a full-time trainer for more than decade, Cloutier said the state guidelines that he helped develop had not significantly changed. Kerrick said he felt a tug on the firearm while he and Ferrell were struggling in a ditch. Because he hit him in the mouth. Laughrun also reminded jurors about the conflicting testimony they’ve heard about the policies CMPD has regarding use of force policies and training. Prosecutor Adren Harris told the jury that Kerrick had enough time – five seconds – to reholster his gun and use a non-lethal weapon as Jonathan Ferrell was running toward officers on September 14, 2013.
Though the incident took place before controversial police shootings of unarmed African-Americans in Ferguson, Mo., Baltimore and Cleveland, the Kerrick case has unfolded against the backdrop of a nationwide debate over police use of deadly force.
He said Kerrick wasn’t required to testify, but he wanted to make sure the jury heard the truth.
Eve Rossi testified that she found stains on Kerrick’s gun, boots and police uniform and said when she ran tests on all those items she got the same answers. He asked Rossi if DNA could have been transferred from Ferrell if Ferrell lifted his arm and touched the gun as he was dying. He said it’s up to the jury to interpret.
“This case is about the defendant shooting an unarmed man 10 times”, Postell said. “This is about whether one police officer complied with the standards for his police department when he used lethal force”. Three Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers responded. A woman told police Ferrell was banging on her front door.
The trial of Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Officer Randall Kerrick was handed to the jury Tuesday afternoon following closing arguments, which began at 9:30 a.m. and ended around 12:15 p.m. One of the officers deployed his Taser, but it was unsuccessful.
In a lawsuit that the city of Charlotte reportedly settled this year for $2.25 million, Ferrell’s family alleges that Kerrick used “stealth and surprise” in approaching Ferrell and “negligently failed to realize that, because of the dim lighting in the area, Jonathan would be startled, frightened and unable to see his approach and commands”.
Did Ferrell charge him, intending harm, as the officer testified? A toxicology report released in November showed Ferrell had 60 mg/dl of ethanol in his system, equal to a. 06 if blown during a DWI check point. The legal limit for driving is 0.08.
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“Do you know him to have a reputation for truthfulness and honesty?” asked George Laughrun, one of Kerrick’s attorneys.
