Feb. 2, 2014

Grand Jury Indicts Cop in Shooting Death of an Unarmed Black Motorist Seeking Help
By Frederick H. Lowe

ferrell jonathan
Jonathan Ferrell
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Randall Kerrick

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from TheNorthStarNews.com

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - A North Carolina grand jury has indicted a police officer in the shooting death of an African-American motorist, who was seeking help following a traffic accident, Roy Cooper, North Carolina Attorney General, said in a statement to The NorthStar News & Analysis.

The grand jury indicted Randall Kerrick, a police officer with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, for voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Jonathan Ferrell, 24, on September 14. Kerrick fired his gun 12 times, hitting Ferrell 10 times, killing him instantly. The indictment came down Jan. 27.

"The grand jury came to its decision after hearing evidence from the State Bureau of Investigation and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department, which filed the original charges," Cooper said.

Ferrell, who was unarmed, had approached Kerrick seeking help following a one-car accident.  

The deadly incident began when Ferrell knocked on the door of a woman's house seeking help. Instead of asking what he wanted, she called the police and said he was attempting to break into her house.

When Kerrick and two other officers arrived at the house, they immediately drew their weapons. One fired with a taser, which seemed to have little or no effect on Ferrell. Kerrick then pulled his gun and began firing.

Ferrell, a former Florida A&M student, moved to Charlotte last year and was working two jobs. 

An earlier grand jury, which was four panelists short, declined to indict Kerrick. He was then indicted by a full panel jury.

Recently, Christopher Chestnutt, the attorney for Ferrell's family, sued Kerrick, Police Chief Rodney Monroe, the county and city of Charlotte over Ferrell's death.