CHARLOTTE, NC- Georgia Ferrell says she’s still seeking justice after a jury couldn’t unanimously decide the fate of a white North Carolina police officer accused in the 2013 shooting death of her son, an unarmed black motorist.
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During deliberations on Wednesday, jurors ask to see eight items in private, including the dashcam video, the interviews with officers Kerrick, Thornell Little, Adam Neal, as well as the use of force directive.
“Does it appear to you that there’s any reasonable probability that this jury will reach a unanimous verdict?”
While initially standing in front of the courthouse chanting and holding signs, protestors, led by Jonathan Ferrell’s brother Willie Ferrell, began to march into the street blocking incoming traffic.
Kerrick faces up to 11 years in prison if convicted – that is, if he is retried at all.
Kerrick’s defense attorney Michael Greene said Ferrell did not request help when he banged on and kicked McCartney’s door, and when McCartney’s house alarm went off, Ferrell said, “Turn off the alarm!”
“The prosecutors did their best with what they had, but we’re convinced that in a new trial, additional facts will be brought out”, Chestnut said. According to the foreman, the jury voted four times over the course of four days.
Charlotte activist Robert Dawkins, who in 2012 founded Safe Coalition NC, to build public trust and accountability in North Carolina law enforcement, said he was disappointed by the trial’s ambivalent conclusion – but not surprised.
Adren Harris, the assistant state lawyer, wouldn’t say whether or not the state would re-try the case.
In a information convention, Charlotte Mayor Dan Clodfelter urged the group to hunt to reduce worry and misunderstanding. Police Chief Kerr Putney said his department strives for perfection, and he asked citizens not to judge it by a single incident.
A dashboard camera video shows Ferrell walking toward police, then running to his left and off screen as Kerrick yells three times, “Get on the ground!” They say nonlethal force should have been used to subdue the former Florida A&M football player. Defence attorneys said that Kerrick had no way of knowing whether Ferrell was armed and that Ferrell tried to take Kerrick’s gun.
The case was one of several in recent years that raised questions about police use of deadly force against black men. The resident referred to as police, and three officers responded.
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But Kerrick’s attorneys said the officer feared for his life when he shot and killed Ferrell while responding to a breaking-and-entering call. Officers have been charged in both of those cases. Ten bullets hit Ferrell, who died from his wounds.
