Grand jury declines to indict North Carolina cop who shot and killed black car crash victim

[DonViejo]

Source: Raw Story

By Travis Gettys
Thursday, January 23, 2014 8:24 EST

Prosecutors will submit involuntary manslaughter charges against a North Carolina police officer who shot a former college football player after he crashed his car.

A Mecklenburg County grand jury declined to indict Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Randall Kerrick on Tuesday on voluntary manslaughter charges in the Sept. 14 shooting death of 24-year-old Jonathan Ferrell.

Kerrick fired his service weapon 12 times and struck Ferrell 10 times, investigators said, killing him.

WBTV-TV reported that grand jurors asked prosecutors for a lesser charge than voluntary manslaughter, and the state attorney general’s office said it would submit the new charge to a full grand jury.

“In the interest of justice, we will resubmit this case to the grand jury scheduled to meet Monday, Jan. 27, to seek an indictment for voluntary manslaughter, the most appropriate charge given the facts in the case,” said Attorney General Roy Cooper.

Ferrell’s family said in a statement they were pleased the case would be resubmitted, but with reservations.

“While we are pleased that the Attorney General is going to resubmit the charges against Randall Kerrick to a new Grand Jury on Monday, we are skeptical given their inability to secure an indictment yesterday,” the statement said. “Jonathan Ferrell was a quality human being who worked hard and cared for those around him. He deserved better.”

But many – including Ferrell’s family – were puzzled and outraged by the announcement that the indictment had been declined.

“This is one of the most despicable decisions I have ever seen made by human beings,” said Kojo Nantambu, president of the Charlotte branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.


A police spokesman said Kerrick will remain suspended without pay until the case is resolved.

A court official said grand jurors typically hear only witness testimony, which would appear to rule out their viewing of a dashboard camera video recorded during the incident.

That video has not been made public, but Kerrick’s attorney said it shows Ferrell never put his hands up after he crashed his car into a tree and sought help from a nearby house.

The homeowner called police, fearing the former Florida A&M football player intended to break in.

“The officers gave several verbal commands to ‘get on the ground, get on the ground’, at least three commands,” said attorney George Laughrun. “He continued approaching the officers, advancing toward them.”

The official said two grand jury panels are selected to sit for three- to six-month terms and alternate weeks when they serve, so Monday’s panel will not be the same group that heard the previous case.

Ferrell’s family filed a lawsuit last week questioning the hiring and training of police officers and accusing Kerrick of negligence in his use of excessive force.
The family claims they have repeatedly been denied information from the officer’s personnel file.

Watch this video report posted online by WBTV-TV:

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/23/grand-jury-declines-to-indict-north-carolina-cop-who-shot-and-killed-black-car-crash-victim/

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Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/23/grand-jury-declines-to-indict-north-carolina-cop-who-shot-and-killed-black-car-crash-victim/

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Complete article posted with permission

[Blue_Tires]

1. I'm guessing by this time next week the charges

will be whittled down to "misdemeanor assault"

[marble falls]

2. Giving thugs guns and badges and carte blanche is a very bad idea and yet we've done it all over ...

the country. I am disgusted with police in general and the fawning over them by "Conservatives". Its time to disarm the police.

[msanthrope]

3. Look--the prosecutor needs to get off his ass, get a laptop into the gj room, and play the

fucking video.

And maybe, just maybe, the prosecutor ought to take a look at just how the gj is selected in that county, because obviously, something is wrong--and I'm going to bet it's because the gj tends to shade lighter than the murder victim.

Oh yeah--and to the prosecutor: (because I am sure he would never read this, and only hope in my fantasies that he does) HAM SANDWICH!!!!!! You failed the HAM SANDWICH TEST!!!!

[L0oniX]

4. Racist homeowner call cops ...racist cop kills. Go figure ...and 12 shots? WTF

That murdering pig intended to kill him. WTF ...an "unarmed" man was murdered.

[NaturalHigh]

9. Racist homeowner?

Somehow I doubt that you know exactly how you would react if someone (of any color) came pounding on your door in the middle of the night.

No way in hell I open the door to someone I don't know in the middle of the night. My family is my concern, and I have no way of knowing the intentions of the person on the other side of the door.

One of the arguments for gun control is that people should call the police if they feel threatened. Now, we're not supposed to call the police when we feel threatened? Which is it? Are we supposed to disregard our family's safety?

Your post makes no sense.

[NoGOPZone]

10. the woman did open the door

http://t.newsone.com/newsone/?ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.democraticunderground.com%2F10024379207#!/entry/52e0a3c9025312186cbf39e5&width=980&height=1245&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fnewsone.com%2F2846839%2Fnc-officer-not-indicted-in-shooting-death-of-unarmed-car-crash-victim%2F&size=medium&oswts=1390526918656

YOUR post might have made sense if it wasn't for this inconvenient fact

[NaturalHigh]

11. I can't get the link to open.

It might just be the computer that I am using.

[NoGOPZone]

12. this might work (tiny url)

http://tinyurl.com/kngfsoe

[NaturalHigh]

13. Still doesn't work.

Definitely the computer I'm on. I'll try it later on my laptop.

[alp227]

16. Fixing url

http://newsone.com/2846839/nc-officer-not-indicted-in-shooting-death-of-unarmed-car-crash-victim/

[NaturalHigh]

19. Thanks, that one worked.

She opened the door thinking it was her husband, then saw it was a stranger covered in blood. I can she why she freaked out.

[demwing]

14. One time in Los Angeles, a nude, crying, blood splattered woman

pounded on my door at 1 am.

I immediately let her in, covered her in an old blanket and called the cops. She claimed the condo security guard had raped and stabbed her, and asked me to hide her.

5 minutes later the guard showed up, and asked if I had seen an injured woman. Through the chained door I told him "Yes, she's here, she blames you, and the cops are on the way." He immediately turned tail and ran off!

Turned out the injuries were superficial and self-inflicted, and done with a shard of broken glass that she still had--it was hidden in her hair! She was quite batshit, and I consider myself lucky I wasn't a statistic that night.

The guard, who seemed so guilty, had only run off to call in his supervisor.

Despite my best intentions, I opened the door to a psycho, and kept out the good guy.

[Comrade Grumpy]

5. Cops get away with murder. n/t

[Kelvin Mace]

6. So he "involuntarily" pulled the trigger 12 times

with no intent of killing the guy?

DAFUQ?!

[Lurks Often]

7. Standard training is to keep shooting until the aggressor ceases to be a threat

Note I am not referring specifically to this case.

As long as the aggressor continues to be a threat, a police officer (and civilians for that matter) is trained to keep shooting until the aggressor stops being a threat. The objective is for the aggressor to stop being a threat, not necessarily kill him, although the aggressor dying from the wounds is often the result.

I read a report of the Illinois State police back in the late 1980's being forced to shoot someone on PCP 33 times before he ceased being a threat. Or NYC around the same time period a crack user shot 18 times, before an Emergency Services Unit (NYC's version of SWAT) finally shot the crack user with a shotgun killing him.

[Comrade Grumpy]

17. Your stories sound like urban myths.

And disturbingly like what racist cops in the South a century ago said about hopped-up Negroes on drugs.

[Lurks Often]

18. Yes, I am sure you would consider them myths

because if true, it upsets all your preconceived notions and might make you realize that you are wrong.

I made no mention of ethnicity, so don't bring in your racism issues in a pathetic attempt to bolster an already weak argument that has no basis in facts.

On edit: Regarding the Cook County shooting see page 215, 5th printing of the law enforcement manual "Street Survival".

Another incident, far more documented, was the 1986 FBI Miami shootout.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_FBI_Miami_shootout#Suspects

Michael Platt was shot 12 times, including one wound that was considered unsurvivable (see Part II of the below link)

Here is a forensic analysis of the FBI Miami shootout: http://www.firearmstactical.com/briefs7.htm

[loudsue]

8. Meanwhile, in Durham NC, a kid who was HANDCUFFED in police custody

with his hands behind his back, committed suicide by shooting himself. All kinds of amazing tricks go on in NC.

[DeSwiss]

15. No justice, no peace.

- Assholes.