N.C. Charlotte Police: Officer Randall Kerrick ‘did not have a lawful right to discharge his weapon’ in the shooting death of ex Florida A&M football player Jonathan Ferrell

N.C. Charlotte Police: Officer Randall Kerrick ‘did not have a lawful right to discharge his weapon’ in the shooting death of ex Florida A&M football player Jonathan Ferrell

To push this story further along.Although we do not know exactly what led to Jonathan Ferrell getting shot dead by a N.C. Charlotte police officer, whatever it was according to police officials “wasn’t lawful”.

copNBC News reports in a statement released Saturday evening, authorities said an investigation had found that Ferrell and Kerrick’s initial encounter was “appropriate and lawful.”

And yet, later in the statement, authorities added that “the investigation showed that the subsequent shooting of Mr. Ferrell was excessive” and that “Kerrick did not have a lawful right to discharge his weapon during this encounter.”

Detectives have charged Kerrick, who joined the CMPD in April 2011, with voluntary manslaughter. Under North Carolina law, voluntary manslaughter is defined as “when a person is killed by another human being without malice,” according to the police statement.

“Voluntary manslaughter is committed in the exercise of imperfect self-defense when a person used excessive force or is an aggressor without murderous intent,” the statement said.

Kerrick turned himself in for booking Saturday evening and was then released on $50,000 bond, according to a statement on the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office website.

The other officers who responded to the breaking-and-entering call – Officer Thornell Little and Officer Adam Neal – have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the shooting investigation, per department protocol, police said.

Ferrell played for Florida A&M University in 2009-10, according to the AP. FAMU Interim Athletic Director Michael Smith confirmed to the AP that Ferrell played the safety position.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to his family during their time of bereavement,” Smith said in an emailed statement to the AP.

In a statement, police said the fatal shooting “is a very unfortunate incident and it has devastated a family as well as caused a great deal of sadness and anxiety in our organization.

More here

I don’t know if Officer Kerrick has been arraigned yet.But, that’s when it will be known if he pleads guilty or not.If he pleads not guilty then his fellow officers will be the state’s strongest witnesses against him.: : 

Originally published at The Last Tradition

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