Killing of Jonathan Ferrell

Ferrell, a black man, was unarmed at the time he was shot. While giving a co-worker a lift home on the night of September 14, 2013, he crashed his car. Witnesses testified that Ferrell walked to the nearby home of Sarah McCartney after the accident and pounded on the door seeking help. McCartney thought Ferrell was trying to break in and called 911. Three officers came.{{Cite web |date=August 21, 2015 |title=Mistrial for Police Officer Who Killed Unarmed Black Man in North Carolina |url=http://www.newsweek.com/randall-kerrick-jonathan-ferrell-north-carolina-police-officer-shot-and-killed-365191 |access-date=August 22, 2015 |website=Newsweek |agency=Reuters}}

Ferrell then ran towards them, whereupon one of the officers, Thornel Little, fired a taser at Ferrell and missed. Little testified that Ferrell had said "shoot me" twice as he ran up on the officers. Kerrick then opened fire on Ferrell, shooting him twelve times and killing him, fearing that the subject had a weapon or was otherwise displaying opportunity, capability, and intent to seriously harm Kerrick and his fellow officers.

A toxicology test of Ferrell's blood showed a blood alcohol level within the legal limit for driving.{{Cite news |last=Leland, Elizabeth |date=August 1, 2015 |title=The tragic path from a 911 call to a fatal confrontation |work=Charlotte Observer |url=http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article29700511.html |access-date=February 11, 2016}}

The day following the shooting, Officer Randall "Wes" Kerrick was charged with voluntary manslaughter, and was released on $45,000 bail from jail. On January 21, 2014, a grand jury declined to indict Kerrick with voluntary manslaughter.{{Cite web |last=Ford, Dana |date=January 21, 2014 |title=No indictment for Charlotte officer who shot Jonathan Ferrell |url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/21/us/north-carolina-police-shooting/index.html |access-date=August 22, 2015 |website=CNN}} On January 27, a second grand jury did indict Kerrick on a voluntary manslaughter charge.{{Cite web |last=McLaughlin, Eliott |date=January 27, 2014 |title=2nd grand jury indicts officer in shooting of ex-FAMU football player |url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/27/us/north-carolina-police-shooting/ |access-date=August 22, 2015 |website=CNN}} On August 21, 2015, a 26th District judge declared a mistrial in the case after the jury reached a deadlock, with eight jurors on one side and four on the other.{{Cite web |last=Cooke, Christina |date=August 22, 2015 |title=Mistrial for officer and no justice for unarmed man: family vows to fight on |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/22/mistrial-officer-randall-kerrick-jonathan-ferrell-familiy-want-new-trial |access-date=August 22, 2015 |website=The Guardian}} The Attorney General of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, said that the state would not re-try Kerrick.

On May 14, 2015, the city of Charlotte settled a separate lawsuit with Ferrell's family for $2.25 million.{{Cite web |last=Gordon, Michael |date=May 14, 2015 |title=Charlotte settles with Jonathan Ferrell's family for $2.25 million in police shooting |url=http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article20983929.html |access-date=August 22, 2015 |website=The Charlotte Observer}}{{Cite book |last=Post |first=The Washington |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Iw9kCwAAQBAJ&q=Morris+Young+sheriff+of+Gadsden+County,+Florida&pg=PT113 |title=Lethal Force: The True Toll of Police Shootings in America |date=January 19, 2016 |publisher=Diversion Books |isbn=9781682303757 |language=en}}

Ferrell's cousin, Morris A. Young (Sheriff of Gadsden County, Florida), said of the incident that Ferrell had always been on the right track and was only looking for help after getting into a traffic collision late at night, yet "the next thing you know, law enforcement comes and sees a young black male at night in that neighborhood. And sometimes people react to that."{{Cite book |last=Post |first=The Washington |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Iw9kCwAAQBAJ&q=Morris+Young+&pg=PT113 |title=Lethal Force: The True Toll of Police Shootings in America |date=January 19, 2016 |publisher=Diversion Books |isbn=9781682303757 |language=en}}

On August 21, 2015, after the mistrial declaration, protesters took to the streets of Charlotte. Several areas of the city were shut down as a result, and two people were arrested.{{Cite web |date=August 21, 2015 |title=Two arrested during Kerrick trial protests in Charlotte |url=http://abc11.com/news/protests-in-charlotte-after-kerrick-mistrial/951156/ |publisher=WTVD}}

On October 2, 2015, Kerrick resigned from the police force.{{Cite news |date=October 8, 2015 |title=Police officer accused in fatal shooting resigns from force |work=The Charlotte Observer |agency=The Associated Press |url=http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article38227671.html |access-date=October 14, 2015}}{{dead link|date=September 2016}}{{Cite news |date=October 8, 2015 |title=Police Officer Accused in Fatal Shooting Resigns From Force |work=BET |url=https://www.bet.com/article/c0e891/police-officer-accused-in-fatal-shooting-resigns-from-force |access-date=September 23, 2016}}

• List of unarmed African Americans killed by law enforcement officers in the United States
• Shooting of Keith Lamont Scott

{{Reflist}}

{{Black Lives Matter}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrell, Jonathan}}

Category:Protests in the United States

Category:History of Charlotte, North Carolina

Category:2013 in North Carolina

Category:Black Lives Matter

Category:September 2013 in the United States

Category:African Americans shot dead by law enforcement officers in North Carolina