Jurors began deliberating Tuesday in the voluntary manslaughter trial of Randall Kerrick, the North Carolina police officer who shot and killed former college football player Jonathan Ferrell after a car wreck on September 14, 2013.
Kerrick, of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, shot Ferrell 10 times that night after the ex-Florida A&M football player went to a house for assistance after an automobile accident that was so severe Ferrell had to crawl out the back window of the car, Ferrell family attorney Chris Chestnut has said.
The trial, which began August 3, drew widespread attention from “Black Lives Matter” activists and others due to the race of the parties involved: Kerrick is white, Ferrell is black.
And, as was the case in some other police shootings brought to national attention — such as those of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri; Walter Scott in North Charleston, South Carolina; Samuel DuBose in Cincinnati and most recently, Christian Taylor in Arlington, Texas — the victim was unarmed.
The circumstances in this case, however, are not so black and white.
One night, two accounts
Police have said Kerrick and two other officers responded to what they believed was a “breaking and entering” call.
Sarah McCartney, who was home alone with her 1-year-old child, said that night she heard someone banging loudly on her door, briefly opened it and then shut it when she saw a stranger and called 911.
“There’s a guy breaking in my front door,” McCartney told a 911 dispatcher. “He’s trying to kick it down.”
According to Chestnut’s version of events, Ferrell was on the sidewalk when officers arrived and walked toward them because he was relieved they had arrived.
While dashcam video released at the trial indeed appears to show Ferrell walking toward officers, he quickly begins running toward police as lights hit his chest. Someone shouts, “Get on the ground!” three times and shots are heard off-camera.
Prosecutors said Ferrell started to run because he was afraid for his life after another officer pointed a Taser at him.
The dashcam video itself seems to exemplify the stark contrast in the accounts told by each side.
Before its release, Chestnut said the video showed that Kerrick committed “cold-blooded murder” and that it would show that Ferrell raised his hands, as if to say “wait.” Kerrick’s defense attorney, meanwhile, said in his opening statement that Ferrell became aggressive, pounding his thighs and taunting Kerrick, saying, “Shoot me! Shoot me!”
The video, however, didn’t show either event, and didn’t seem to make what happened any clearer.
In a lawsuit that the city of Charlotte reportedly settled this year for $2.25 million, Ferrell’s family alleges that Kerrick used “stealth and surprise” in approaching Ferrell and “negligently failed to realize that, because of the dim lighting in the area, Jonathan would be startled, frightened and unable to see his approach and commands.”
Kerrick’s defense attorney Michael Greene said Ferrell did not request help when he banged on and kicked McCartney’s door, and when McCartney’s house alarm went off, Ferrell said, “Turn off the alarm! Turn it off,” according to CNN affiliate WSOC.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this isn’t about race. It never was. It’s about choices,” Greene said, according to the station.
Felony voluntary manslaughter involves someone either using excessive force in self-defense or shooting without the intent to kill.
The jury will decide whether Kerrick used excessive force or whether he was justified because he thought Ferrell posed a deadly threat. Jurors started, and then stopped, deliberations after closing arguments wrapped on Tuesday. They are expected to resume deliberations Wednesday.
If convicted, Kerrick faces three to 11 years in prison.