Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Man Shot, Killed by Police Officer Believed to Have Been Seeking Help After Crashing Vehicle
New York Daily News ^ | SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2013 | NINA GOLGOWSKI

Posted on 09/15/2013 3:05:55 PM PDT by nickcarraway

North Carolina's Charlotte-Mecklenburg police department says Jonathan A. Ferrell, 24, may have been seeking assistance after a car crash. But when he ran toward officers, the former Florida A&M University football player was killed.

An unarmed North Carolina man who was shot and killed by police while running toward an officer may have only been seeking help after surviving a car crash.

Jonathan A. Ferrell, 24, was shot multiple times when authorities say he surprised a trio of police officers with Charlotte-Mecklenburg police department by running toward them around 2 a.m. Saturday.

Officer Randall Kerrick, 27, reacted by firing his weapon with "excessive" and "unlawful" force, his department now believes, killing the former Florida A&M University football player who recently moved to the area.

"(Ferrell) immediately charged towards the three officers, one in particular. That officer fired his weapon several times, striking the individual multiple times," Police Chief Rodney Monroe said in a press conference.

Use of a stun gun was attempted by an officer prior to the shooting according to police but its discharge was "unsuccessful."

Officer Randall Kerrick, 27, turned himself in Saturday just after a warrant was signed for his arrest on voluntary manslaughter charges.

Ferrell was pronounced dead at the scene. Police say Ferrell's description matched one given by a woman who moments earlier called 911 reporting a man as wildly knocking on her front door and attempting to break in. Officers now believe this man described as resembling Ferrell may have just been trying to get help.

A mangled vehicle believed to have belonged to Ferrell was later discovered in some nearby woods.

"We believe that vehicle belonged to the individual who was shot. It's quite possible he was seeking assistance. Based on his accident, it was a pretty serious accident," said Monroe.

Police say Jonathan A. Ferrell's description matched one given by a woman who moments earlier called 911 to report a man as wildly knocking on her front door, pictured. Police now believe he only wanted help. WSOCTV.COM

Police say Jonathan A. Ferrell's description matched one given by a woman who moments earlier called 911 to report a man as wildly knocking on her front door, pictured. Police now believe he only wanted help.

WBTV reported the driver of that vehicle had to climb out the back window to escape due to the severity of the crash.

A warrant was signed for Kerrick's arrest for voluntary manslaughter just before he turned himself in Saturday.

"The evidence revealed that Mr. Ferrell did advance on Officer Kerrick and the investigation showed that the subsequent shooting of Mr. Ferrell was excessive," police said in a statement issued late Saturday. "Our investigation has shown that Officer Kerrick did not have a lawful right to discharge his weapon during this encounter."

The two-year police veteran, who joined the force in April 2011, the Charlotte Observer reports, is currently in police custody.

Monroe described him as "devastated" by the death when contacted by WSOC-TV. Not far from the scene of the shooting police discovered a wrecked vehicle, crashed in the woods. They now believe it may have been driven by Ferrell and he escaped seeking help. WSOCTV.COM

Not far from the scene of the shooting police discovered a wrecked vehicle, crashed in the woods. They now believe it may have been driven by Ferrell and he escaped seeking help.

"He is pretty shook up," he said.

The two officers with Kerrick at the time of the shooting are currently on paid administrative leave, which is a routine procedure following a shooting involving an officer, according to the department.

"My hearts goes out to the Ferrell family, quite naturally, as well as the main members of the CMPD family. This is never something easy to deal with, never something easy for us to quite grasp, but we are going to rise form this as we have from other things," said Monroe.

FAMU interim athletic director Michael Smith confirmed to the Associated Press Sunday that Ferrell played the safety position for the Rattlers in 2009-10.


TOPICS: Local News; Sports
KEYWORDS: jonathanferrell
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061 next last
To: nickcarraway

“shot multiple times”


21 posted on 09/15/2013 3:32:35 PM PDT by OldNewYork (Biden '13. Impeach now.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: James C. Bennett

Yup - the victim was black, the cop, white. I’m sure Sharpton and the “reverund” Jackson are already on the scene.


22 posted on 09/15/2013 3:34:47 PM PDT by Joann37
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: James C. Bennett; ProudFossil

Jonathan Ferrell, a former Florida A&M University football player, was shot and
killed Saturday by a North Carolina police officer when he ran out at the armed
officer while seeking help, authorities now believe.

23 posted on 09/15/2013 3:36:20 PM PDT by BenLurkin (This is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire; or both.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: GraceG

Target practice is not limited to the range anymore.


24 posted on 09/15/2013 3:40:44 PM PDT by IbJensen (Liberals are like Slinkies, good for nothing, but you smile as you push them down the stairs.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Political Junkie Too

Grain of salt as this is from the news report only.
But lots of people seek help or approach cops, so why was this guy even tazed in the first place? Was he simply stumbling towards them, dazed? Or did he charge as the report says? Is the guy stoned, drunk? It sounds like it was a more than an average motorist summoning assistance. And his being a college athlete clouds the story even more. Lots of room for dishonesty either way there.
Wish we knew a few more facts.

From the story;
“When she discovered someone else was knocking, she closed the door and called 911.
Officers at the scene found Ferrell a short distance from the home, and he matched a description given by the homeowner, police said.

As officers approached Ferrell to investigate the original call, Ferrell ran toward the officers and was hit with a Taser, police said. After Ferrell kept running toward police, Kerrick opened fire, police said.”


25 posted on 09/15/2013 3:41:53 PM PDT by DesertRhino (I was standing with a rifle, waiting for soviet paratroopers, but communists just ran for office.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

Keeping officers safe is the most important responsibility of the police. This can only be accomplished by shooting citizens and their dogs. Oh, and we need to take all guns away from citizens to ensure that the police are not unnecessarily endangered when shooting citizens. Only when these three things are done, will the police be able to enforce all of our laws. As there are many more citizens than there are police officers, a few dead ones shouldn’t matter much.


26 posted on 09/15/2013 3:42:51 PM PDT by centurion316
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: HollyB
Yes, he was.

I was very much wrong. I am so sorry. I saw the article on Drudge and read it. They had a photo of the officer that killed Ferrell. I just glanced at it and assumed it was Ferrell, it was not.

Please accept my apology for being so stupid and not checking the facts.

27 posted on 09/15/2013 3:49:39 PM PDT by ProudFossil (" I never did give anyone hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell." Harry Truman)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: ProudFossil

I don’t think many white guys are playing safety at FAMU.


28 posted on 09/15/2013 3:56:04 PM PDT by FlJoePa ("Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won't taste good")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 27 | View Replies]

To: Navy Patriot
Of course moving away is seen as "evading" and an admission of guilt, ya need to be shot for that, too.

But don't think ya can just stand there, that's "confronting" and that attitude justifies shooting.

You've summed up the whole intolerable situation we're in very accurately and concisely.

29 posted on 09/15/2013 3:58:03 PM PDT by BfloGuy (People who know what theyÂ’re talking about donÂ’t need PowerPoint.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: BfloGuy

The recent avalanche of black on white crime has understandably made many wary of young black males.


30 posted on 09/15/2013 4:03:33 PM PDT by Josa
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: Josa
The recent avalanche of black on white crime has understandably made many wary of young black males.

Well, of course, it has. Even my pea-brain understands that.

31 posted on 09/15/2013 4:06:04 PM PDT by BfloGuy (People who know what theyÂ’re talking about donÂ’t need PowerPoint.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: DesertRhino

It sounds like it was a more than an average motorist summoning assistance.

He was a black football player which isn’t difficult to imagine in a threatening position but what are cops being trained to deal with if not worse case scenarios. Anyone can handle an average built Joe. Clearly procedure was not followed in this instance or the offending officer would not be in jail on a felony charge.


32 posted on 09/15/2013 4:12:42 PM PDT by erlayman
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: BfloGuy

; )


33 posted on 09/15/2013 4:23:03 PM PDT by Josa
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: erlayman

“Clearly procedure was not followed in this instance or the offending officer would not be in jail on a felony charge.”

That does not follow logically at all. There are plenty of people, including cops, charged with felonies because the person they had the negative interaction with was some kind of VIP or celebrity.
For some reason an officer tazed him, and then someone (same officer?) shot him. That implies a little bit of time, and some continuing rowdiness that escalated to a shooting.

Given the typical college football player, Florida urban mentality, the post Trayvon war on whites, the fact that he trashed his car out late, and the fact that he could not simply communicate to the homeowner “please call 911 for me, ive been in a car wreck”,, etc etc, I am going to bet he was a drunken menace of some sort.

I’ll wait for some facts. But for me, either could still be true, cop was trigger happy, or the dead guy the size of a house was an aggressive A-hole. Hard to tell yet.


34 posted on 09/15/2013 4:26:21 PM PDT by DesertRhino (I was standing with a rifle, waiting for soviet paratroopers, but communists just ran for office.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

Ahhh...more trigger time.


35 posted on 09/15/2013 4:30:08 PM PDT by Banjoguy (The Mayor of San Antonio is the smoothest liar I have ever seen.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

I have needed a cop ONCE so far in my life. (Domestic incident with my drugged-out ex; she handled herself and the situation very professionally. Polite, professional and she HAD a back-up plan...)

That said, I pray to GOD that I NEVER need another one again for as long as I shall live. They are an entirely different breed these days...


36 posted on 09/15/2013 4:34:19 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: HollyB

Is it just me or does the cop look like a meth addict?

37 posted on 09/15/2013 4:48:55 PM PDT by Flick Lives (We're going to be just like the old Soviet Union, but with free cell phones!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: Flick Lives

No, it isn’t just you. That was my first thought as well.


38 posted on 09/15/2013 4:56:23 PM PDT by NVDave
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

A 200 lb guy running at anyone, armed or unarmed, is a threat to that person. I expect the cop to be exonerated, although it’s right that the matter should be thrashed out in court.


39 posted on 09/15/2013 5:01:16 PM PDT by Zhang Fei (Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: erlayman
Clearly procedure was not followed in this instance or the offending officer would not be in jail on a felony charge.

Probably to forestall race riots.

40 posted on 09/15/2013 5:03:37 PM PDT by Zhang Fei (Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson