WELL, SHOOT... JUST SHOOT

[HairOfTheDog]

Jonathan A. Ferrell, 24, shot to death by on-duty police officer. RIP.


Randall Kerrick, police officer - arrested for voluntary manslaughter.

Sad story.

Ferrell was involved in a serious car wreck in Charlotte, NC.

He apparently climbed out of his mangled vehicle, ran up the embankment to the nearest home for help and banged on the door.

The female resident shut the door and called 911.

When police arrived, they assumed it was a breaking and entering call. Ferrell ran towards them. He was tased and then he was shot multiple times. He was unarmed and died at the scene.

This happened on Saturday. Officer Kerrick has already been arrested and charged with voluntary manslaughter.

Officer Kerrick reportedly feels terribly. Jesus, I think he should.

I understand the officers thought Ferrell was a bad guy, but there were 3 officers on the scene and Ferrell made no threats and brandished no weapon. Well-trained officers should have been able to apprehend the man and ascertain the situation without resorting to deadly force, IMO. Officer Kerrick reportedly shot "while" retreating, not after. Never should have happened.

Source:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-5760...by-police/

[username]

That's a damn tragedy. The woman who led the police to think this was a break and enter started the whole unfortunate sequence of events.

I bet the victim was probably saying "help" or something to that effect. It sounds like the dumb bitch just ignored whatever pleas he was making and called 911. Or, I blame the dispatcher for putting it out as a b&e. Sounds to me like more than one person messed up besides the officer who pulled the trigger.

[SIXFOOTERsez]

Dumbass, thats another one that should have never had access to a gun.

[Duchess]

Feels terribly guilty. Pfft. Fuck him. How the hell do you get to be a cop when you can't even accurately view a situation. Jesus.

[sally]

He even looks like a fucking moron.

[ramseycat]

He even looks like a fucking moron.

He totally does. That pic looks like a mug shot.

[Maggot]

This sure trumps Zimmermans game. Let the discussion begin anew. Oh, my freakin head!

[username]

If the guy were white this never would have happened. The lady would have invited him in for cookies.

Where are you, Al???

[Midwest Spy]

Heard a few more details about this today.

First of all it's 2:30am and someone is banging on your door. Imagine being a woman by yourself and you think someone is trying to break in.

I'm not blaming her or the dispatcher.

Now, 3 cops arrive (2 black and 1 white). Our crash victim could've been easily high on some shit for officers to react the way they did.

I feel anyone who's not high would probably not elicit a taser and gunfire from police once they discover you've been in an accident.

I'm not condoning shooting someone 10 times, but I'll be interested to hear the testimony from the two black officers as to what really happened.

[Duchess]

First of all it's 2:30am and someone is banging on your door. Imagine being a woman by yourself and you think someone is trying to break in.

Didn't she answer the door thinking it was her husband?

You'll find a way to blame this on the man who was shot down like a rabid dog.

[HairOfTheDog]

You'll find a way to blame this on the man who was shot down like a rabid dog.

Luckily, those in charge at the Charlotte PD aren't even attempting to justify Ferrell being shot 10 times or to blame the victim.

They admit that the cop, who was promoted from the animal control unit two years ago, was wrong and they've already undoubtedly talked to the other officers who were on the scene. It's very rare to see a cop who fires his gun on-duty get arrested and charged with a felony so quickly; there's a reason for it.

Whether Ferrell was drunk or high doesn't matter (toxicology is pending as part of standard autopsy). Three cops, one unarmed guy - 12 shots fired as one of the first courses of action. Inexcusable, IMO.

Snip:
After a tearful meeting with Chief Rodney Moore of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Mr. Ferrell’s mother applauded the city for quickly charging the officer who fired the shots with voluntary manslaughter.

“There is no justification of it and, frankly, to the chief’s credit, he didn’t offer one,” said Chris Chestnut, the family’s lawyer. “This is a bad cop in an otherwise respectable police department.”

“...I will tell you this isn’t a Charlotte Police Department problem,” Mr. Chestnut said. “It’s a glaring example that there are folks with guns and badges in America that lack discernment and intelligence and judgment.”

Mr. Ferrell, a former safety with Florida A&M University, had recently moved to Charlotte to be with his fiancée, a woman he had been dating since high school. He was working two retail jobs and thinking about going back to school.

Mr. Ferrell’s family, who had traveled to Charlotte from Tallahassee, Fla., spoke of forgiveness but would not say whether they thought a more severe charge should have been leveled.

“He took my son from me, but I can only stand here and tell you that I believe God is the one listening to me right now and God would want me to forgive,” she said. “If I don’t forgive, it will be on me forever.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/17/us/ask....html?_r=0

[Duchess]

“It’s a glaring example that there are folks with guns and badges in America that lack discernment and intelligence and judgment.”

I believe this with all my heart. ^^^^^^

I believe that there are many, many people (not just LEO's) who are in positions of power who have no business being there, none whatsoever.

[sally]

First of all it's 2:30am and someone is banging on your door. Imagine being a woman by yourself and you think someone is trying to break in.

I'd probably be shocked if I opened my door at 2:30 in the morning thinking it was my husband and some guy was standing there. Even if I shut the door on him I'd at least ask through the door what he wanted before calling 911 and lying to them that some big nigger is trying to break in my house.

[Midwest Spy]

First of all it's 2:30am and someone is banging on your door. Imagine being a woman by yourself and you think someone is trying to break in.

Didn't she answer the door thinking it was her husband?

You'll find a way to blame this on the man who was shot down like a rabid dog.

Okay, Miss Sympathizer.

Why would the first black cop feel the need to taser him?

Was he, in fact, acting like a rabid dog?

I've never been in a serious car accident, but what the fuck was this guy doing that scared the shit out of the homeowner and had one cop try his taser before the next cop used his gun?

All I said was I'd like to hear the testimony of the two black cops (and toxicology tests on the victim).

And I also said that I didn't condone firing 12 shots at the guy (unless, of course, the first 11 couldn't incapacitate him).

I also agree that there are a lot of cops that abuse their power, however, I think there are many more who put their lives on the line each day and are randomly killed trying to enforce our laws and protect citizens.

They generally deal with the worst of the worst.

And yes, sometimes they make bad decisions.

[Duchess]

Miss Sympathizer. Bwahahaha!

If I'm Miss Sympathizer you're Mr. White Bread.

[HairOfTheDog]

Update

The 911 call has been released.

The dispatcher keeps asking if the man is still "in the house". He was never in the house.

The homeowner tells the dispatcher several times that he's in the front yard and he's yelling.

Someone looking to do a B&E probably wouldn't be lingering around outside waiting for the cops and there's no report that Ferrell made any threats.

The police car dashcam reportedly shows a clearly unarmed Ferrell moving forward toward police with his hands out, then panicking as two laser beams hit the center of his chest.

Snip:
"Then he gets excited, and he's like -- 'wait, wait, wait' -- and he's coming forward saying, 'stop,' and he goes off camera, and you just hear shots. One, two, three, four...pause...one, two, three, four, five, six...pause. One, two." (according to the Ferrel family attorney, Mr. Chestnut.)

"Our investigation has shown that Officer Kerrick did not have a lawful right to discharge his weapon during this encounter," police said in a statement Monday.

911 CALL and full story:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/17/justice/no...?hpt=ju_t3

The NAACP is asking for the charges to be upped from manslaughter to murder.

Meanwhile, Ferrell's family is pushing off cries of racism and saying this is instead a case of seriously bad decision making and incompetence.

I don't know if Ferrell was disoriented from the crash, and/or intoxiciated, or if Officer Kerrick was just an unbalanced trigger-happy cop. In any case, based on what's known now, Ferrell's death is all on Kerrick, imo. He's out on bail and the PD's official statement remains that he used excessive force and the shooting was not justified.

[Midwest Spy]

Unfortunately, with the homeowner on the line with 911 dispatch as long as she was, you're right in the fact that a fairly dire picture was being painted.

I'm guessing there was plenty of disorientation or intoxication on the part of Ferrel. The 3 officers on scene were obviously responding to a B & E so their guard is up. The homeowner for her part, was obviously scared to death. She doesn't sound like she's faking anything at all.

Sounds like a really bad combination of circumstances coming together. The victim obviously was moving toward the cops, and they didn't really know what to expect.

Kerrick saw the taser fail, and obviously panicked.

Bad deal.

[Duchess]

It's horrible and you can bet your ass there are police who are as incapable as these three all over America.

Don't y'all feel comfortable knowing they are there to help.

[Midwest Spy]

It's horrible and you can bet your ass there are police who are as incapable as these three all over America.

Don't y'all feel comfortable knowing they are there to help.

The Police Chief basically came out and says they were not authorized to use deadly force in that scenario.

They should've gotten their hands dirty, i.e., broke out the nightsticks and wrestled his ass to the ground.

[Duchess]

The Police Chief basically came out and says they were not authorized to use deadly force in that scenario.

I was glad to see them all over this so quickly. I think it surprised a lot of people.