Kerrick Vs. Ferrell Case Analysis
In the United States today, there are many debates about the crimes against African Americans that are being committed by police officers. For years there has been a worrying amount of news stories about police officers shooting unarmed African American males with little to no provocation from them. These shootings have led to massive outcries from the citizens of the United States as well as created movements such as "black lives matter." These groups want to see a change on how police officers are trained and for racial profiling to stop. One of the cases that added the fuel to the fire is Randall Kerrick versus Jonathan Ferrell. The case of Randall Kerrick versus Jonathan Ferrell happened on September 14, 2013, when an officer of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg
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Police Department shot and killed a unarmed college student. The night of the shooting there a women that called 911 on a possible break-in. Officer Randall Kerrick and two fellow officers arrived on scene where Jonathan Ferrell advanced on them. One of the officers pulled his stun gun and proceeded to shoot it, where it missed and Ferrell proceeded to come closer. Kerrick then pulled out his gun and shot it twelve times. Ten of the bullets hit Ferrell and killed the former football player. Officer Kerrick turned himself the next day and the police charged him with voluntary manslaughter. In the investigation that followed the shooting it was showed that Ferrell was in a horrific car accident where he had to climb out of the back window to escape. He was pounding on the women's door and was calling for help. When the women saw a man she did not know she panicked and called 911. It was noted that only Kerrick pulled out his gun. The other two officers on the scene did not pull out their firearms. During the trial the prosecutor and the defense attorney had conflicting arguments on what happen that night. When the dash cam of one of the police cars was revealed it did not help clear up the incident. The prosecutor claimed that Ferrell raised up his arms and said "wait," while Kerrick's defense attorney claimed that Ferrell was antagonizing Kerrick and yelling "shoot me." However, the dash cam showed shouts and shots, but the moment of the shooting was not shown and Ferrell did not appear to raise his hands. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department later said that what Kerrick did was unlawful and used an excessive amount of force that was unwarranted. In the end the case ended with the jury in deadlock and the judge claiming it a mistrial. Kerrick ended up being fired from the police department. The fact that Kerrick is white and Ferrell was black fueled the racial tensions in the city. There are many people, Ferrell's brother one of them, that believed that because Ferrell was African American led to the use of deadly force by Kerrick. In my opinion what Kerrick did was wrong, however, I feel like the officers who used their stun guns were correct.
Neither the dash cam nor the police reports showed that Ferrell was calling for help when he saw the police officers and since he was running towards them the officers had the right to defend themselves. Officer Kerrick should not of pulled out his firearm and the fact that he thought that Ferrell was trying to get his gun away from him still did not warrant the officer to shoot Ferrell. Especially since the other two officers testified that they never saw reason to pull out their own guns. In the best case scenario, Kerrick should of brought out his own stun gun and used that to shoot Ferrell instead. Also I feel like the women who called 911 was wrong as well. She called the police in fear of a strange man, who she thought was trying to break down her door, but she never bothered to listen to Ferrell as he was probably calling out for help repeatedly. Whether or not the police departments actions were correct or not is up to speculation. In my mind the actions of the police department handling the case and the officer who used their stun gun was correct, but the actions of Randall Kerrick was completely wrong. Racial tensions in the United States has been has major problem for the last few years. The multiple cases of police officers shooting African Americans have only increased these tensions. One of these cases that fueled the flames is the incident that happen back in 2013, when Officer Kerrick shot and killed Jonathan Ferrell. The actions of Officer Kerrick were wrong since he acted more in fear than any actual proof that Ferrell was going to harm
him.
Police Department shot and killed a unarmed college student. The night of the shooting there a women that called 911 on a possible break-in. Officer Randall Kerrick and two fellow officers arrived on scene where Jonathan Ferrell advanced on them. One of the officers pulled his stun gun and proceeded to shoot it, where it missed and Ferrell proceeded to come closer. Kerrick then pulled out his gun and shot it twelve times. Ten of the bullets hit Ferrell and killed the former football player. Officer Kerrick turned himself the next day and the police charged him with voluntary manslaughter. In the investigation that followed the shooting it was showed that Ferrell was in a horrific car accident where he had to climb out of the back window to escape. He was pounding on the women's door and was calling for help. When the women saw a man she did not know she panicked and called 911. It was noted that only Kerrick pulled out his gun. The other two officers on the scene did not pull out their firearms. During the trial the prosecutor and the defense attorney had conflicting arguments on what happen that night. When the dash cam of one of the police cars was revealed it did not help clear up the incident. The prosecutor claimed that Ferrell raised up his arms and said "wait," while Kerrick's defense attorney claimed that Ferrell was antagonizing Kerrick and yelling "shoot me." However, the dash cam showed shouts and shots, but the moment of the shooting was not shown and Ferrell did not appear to raise his hands. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department later said that what Kerrick did was unlawful and used an excessive amount of force that was unwarranted. In the end the case ended with the jury in deadlock and the judge claiming it a mistrial. Kerrick ended up being fired from the police department. The fact that Kerrick is white and Ferrell was black fueled the racial tensions in the city. There are many people, Ferrell's brother one of them, that believed that because Ferrell was African American led to the use of deadly force by Kerrick. In my opinion what Kerrick did was wrong, however, I feel like the officers who used their stun guns were correct.
Neither the dash cam nor the police reports showed that Ferrell was calling for help when he saw the police officers and since he was running towards them the officers had the right to defend themselves. Officer Kerrick should not of pulled out his firearm and the fact that he thought that Ferrell was trying to get his gun away from him still did not warrant the officer to shoot Ferrell. Especially since the other two officers testified that they never saw reason to pull out their own guns. In the best case scenario, Kerrick should of brought out his own stun gun and used that to shoot Ferrell instead. Also I feel like the women who called 911 was wrong as well. She called the police in fear of a strange man, who she thought was trying to break down her door, but she never bothered to listen to Ferrell as he was probably calling out for help repeatedly. Whether or not the police departments actions were correct or not is up to speculation. In my mind the actions of the police department handling the case and the officer who used their stun gun was correct, but the actions of Randall Kerrick was completely wrong. Racial tensions in the United States has been has major problem for the last few years. The multiple cases of police officers shooting African Americans have only increased these tensions. One of these cases that fueled the flames is the incident that happen back in 2013, when Officer Kerrick shot and killed Jonathan Ferrell. The actions of Officer Kerrick were wrong since he acted more in fear than any actual proof that Ferrell was going to harm
him.