Survived Car Crash. Killed by Cop

nighttimer · Sep 15, 2013

Remember when you were in school and Officer Friendly came to class and told you , "the police officer is your friend?"

Some are. Some aren't.

Sometimes you can’t tell until it’s too late.

A North Carolina police officer who authorities say fatally shot an unarmed man as he sought assistance after he crashed his vehicle early Saturday morning has been charged with voluntary manslaughter in the man's death.

Authorities in Charlotte say former Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University football player Jonathan Ferrell appears to have crashed his car down an embankment about 2:30 a.m. and then knocked on the door of a nearby residence shortly after looking for help.

The homeowner opened the door thinking it was her husband. When she realized it was 24-year-old Ferrell - a stranger - she closed the door and called 911, according to reports.

When officers arrived, they found Ferrell a short distance from the home, and he matched a description given by the homeowner, police said.

The statement said officers approached Ferrell to investigate the original call. Ferrell ran toward the officers and one officer fired a taser, however it failed to discharge, police said.

Ferrell continued to run toward police when Officer Randall Kerrick, 27, fired his weapon, hitting Ferrell several times, according to WSOC. Ferrell was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities said Kerrick fired his weapon with 'excessive' and 'unlawful' force.

A wrecked vehicle was later discovered in woods nearby.

'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,' Monroe said.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe said the accident was so serious Ferrell would have been forced to climb out of the back window of the vehicle, WSOC reported. He apparently walked to the nearest house and banged on the door.

Monroe told a news conference that he didn't think Ferrell was trying to rob the woman.

'I don't believe threats were made,' the chief said.

'He is pretty shook up,' the chief said. 'He's devastated.'

Kerrick has been with Charlotte-Mecklenburg police since April 2011.

Monroe said at a news conference that Kerrick was in custody. Police say he was charged with voluntary manslaughter after an investigation found that the shooting was excessive. He handed himself in on 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.'

Two other officers at the scene have been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of a probe into the shooting, according to the station.

This isn't simply a tragedy. It's a travesty and it stinks like hell.

sulong · Sep 15, 2013

Monroe said at a news conference that Kerrick was in custody. Police say he was charged with voluntary manslaughter after an investigation found that the shooting was excessive. He handed himself in on 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.

The fact that the cop was in custody and charged from this episode, is a huge step forward.

There are many places in this country where said cop might have gotten a slap on the back and an invitation to Sunday dinner over such an incidence.

Yorkist · Sep 15, 2013

Shot for the crime of knocking on a door. *shakes head*

raburrell · Sep 15, 2013

I don't think I can come up with anything coherent to say.
Thoughts are with Mr. Ferrell's family, and with the hope they're able to receive justice for their son

Liosse de Velishaf · Sep 15, 2013

I mean, I get that he might have been perceived as charging the officers, but seriously, a random guy who just went through a car accident is not a threat that requires a gun. Tazer, maybe, nighstick if you have to, gun, no.

I note this guy has only been on the force for a max of two years. Perhaps his training was not what it should have been?

dfwtinman · Sep 15, 2013

Here's a thread from a day or so ago on the reduction of force when police officers are forced to wear body cams.

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=277446

ETA:
The above thread was courtesy of the Great Zoombie

Rina Evans · Sep 15, 2013

Poor guy.
Poor woman who called the cops. Hope she's not blaming herself.
Poor (rookie?) cop who wasn't trained well. I'm assuming, because the thought of an experienced person, so quick to pull the trigger...

Shitty situation, but I'm glad they got the cop into custody. Too many situations like this are overlooked.

robjvargas · Sep 15, 2013

It's getting what appears to be a proper investigation at this point. Charges have been filed (and, offhand, the charge seems appropriate to what we know).

There were three officers involved. I'm still waiting to see what comes of the other two.

Did anyone try to stop this?

Zoombie · Sep 15, 2013

We really need body cameras.

And gun cameras.

Cranky1 · Sep 15, 2013

Liosse de Velishaf said:
a random guy

Let's put this out there. This wasn't a random guy knocking on a door. It was a unknown Black man knocking on the home of a woman alone. I could easily imagine that it was presumed he was some rapist out on the loose, terrorizing women.

I see shadows of the Martin case.

Yorkist · Sep 15, 2013

^ Ditto.

Also, I can't really imagine calling the cops for someone knocking on my door, even at 2:30 in the morning. The first thing I would assume is that it was some drunk asshole (or some drunk friend). The second thing I would assume is that something horrible had happened and he or she had a good fucking reason to knock.

DancingMaenid · Sep 15, 2013

Yorkist said:
^ Ditto.

Also, I can't really imagine calling the cops for someone knocking on my door, even at 2:30 in the morning. The first thing I would assume is that it was some drunk asshole (or some drunk friend). The second thing I would assume is that something horrible had happened and he or she had a good fucking reason to knock.

I might call the cops, but I'd also try to communicate with the person to see if needed help (preferably without opening the door).

When I was a kid, we lived on a somewhat rural road, and one holiday weekend, late at night, someone knocked on the door. My mom talked to them through the door without opening it, and they said they needed a tire iron. When she offered to call someone for them, they didn't respond and just disappeared. I think she did call the police, and they didn't find anyone or any broken-down cars. It was suspicious. (The drunk asshole thing wasn't so likely since there were very few houses around.)

But the thing is, even if you believe something horrible might have happened, calling the police should be a good way of helping. That's part of their job. If I think someone may be in danger, I want to feel confident that I can call the police and that the police will try to help them--not shoot them. Of course, if I can see that someone is in immediate danger, I'll try to do my own part to help them. But if I'm not sure what's going on and am not sure if it's safe for me to get involved, I want to be able to call the cops and trust them to help the person.

Yorkist · Sep 15, 2013

DM, I think my perspective is probably colored by the fact that (1) I don't trust cops and (2) I have nearly 300 pounds of dog. But regardless, if someone shows up all bloody on my porch, I'm not going to sit by idly talking to the po-po.

efreysson · Sep 15, 2013

Rina Evans said:
Poor woman who called the cops. Hope she's not blaming herself.

I DO hope she blames herself.
A stranger appears at the door and she freaks out and calls in the cavalry? This is despicable.

Yorkist · Sep 15, 2013

^ I wouldn't necessarily call it despicable. A woman alone and a random man she doesn't know shows up on her porch at nearly 3:00 a.m.? I can't blame her for not opening the door. I would, in most circumstances, as I stated above - and I certainly would if he appeared injured in any way.

Again, I don't trust cops. I wouldn't call them. But I might call someone else in this situation.

DancingMaenid · Sep 16, 2013

Yorkist said:
DM, I think my perspective is probably colored by the fact that (1) I don't trust cops and (2) I have nearly 300 pounds of dog. But regardless, if someone shows up all bloody on my porch, I'm not going to sit by idly talking to the po-po.

The thing is, it's not always that extreme.

If you can see that someone is badly injured or frightened, then that's one thing. But sometimes it's hard to tell if a person is hurt, and I do think it can be dangerous to let a stranger into your home unless they seem to be in distress.

But even if they are badly hurt/in danger, there's only so much you can do, personally. Calling 911 is necessary, especially if someone is injured.

I don't trust the police that much, either, which is a shame. Because helping people in danger is what the police are primarily there for. I don't think it's right to call the police on someone for a frivolous reason, but I think it's worse if we stop calling 911 in cases where we think someone may be in danger because we're worried about the police shooting an innocent person.

It's possible that the tone of a 911 call may make a difference. "I think someone is trying to break into my house" is very different than "Someone's outside and I think they might have been in an accident." But sadly, when a cop is too quick to pull the trigger, there's no guarantee. You can call the police because someone is attacking you, and there's no guarantee that a cop with overly-quick reflexes won't mistake you for the perpetrator and arrest/kill you instead. The surest way to avoid getting abused by the police is to not call them, but that's not a good long-term solution.

waylander · Sep 16, 2013

Be useful to know if the deceased attempted to talk to the woman before she slammed the door in his face before we pass judgement on her.
Also, did he have a working cellphone? If he was able to walk to her house why didn't he call in the accident to the cops?

Manuel Royal · Sep 16, 2013

"Taser" stands for "Thomas A. Swift Electric Rifle", because its inventor was a fan of the Tom Swift books. That's one of the few things we know for sure about this case.

I wish we did have body-cam video. Running, rather than walking, toward the police is strange behavior; but is that really how it happened? Shooting an unarmed man dead is really bad policing; sounds like panic.

RichardGarfinkle · Sep 16, 2013

Running is strange behavior. But people who have been in accidents and then wander around in the dark, do not necessarily have the wherewithal to follow strict police-citizen interaction protocols.

robjvargas · Sep 16, 2013

efreysson said:
I DO hope she blames herself.
A stranger appears at the door and she freaks out and calls in the cavalry? This is despicable.

Calling 911, it seems to me, is what the guy wanted. We don't know what she told the dispatcher, but the only thing I would have done different is to let the dispatcher know the guy claimed to have been in an accident (if he told that woman).

Barbara R. · Sep 16, 2013

Cranky1 said:
Let's put this out there. This wasn't a random guy knocking on a door. It was a unknown Black man knocking on the home of a woman alone. I could easily imagine that it was presumed he was some rapist out on the loose, terrorizing women.

I see shadows of the Martin case.

That was my first thought, too. The article doesn't give his race, though, or the cops.

Of course, most rapists don't knock on the door at 2:30 A.M. But I don't blame the woman for calling the cops when it happened. It wasn't her fault--it's all on the cop.

missesdash · Sep 16, 2013

robjvargas said:
Calling 911, it seems to me, is what the guy wanted. We don't know what she told the dispatcher, but the only thing I would have done different is to let the dispatcher know the guy claimed to have been in an accident (if he told that woman).

Actually it was a breaking and entering 911 call. Which is pretty ridiculous because people don't stand outside and knock when they want to "break and enter."

She opened the door because she thought it was her husband, then she saw a (presumably) bloody man and called the cops to say he was trying to break into her house.

As the story stands, I don't think too kindly of her or the cops.

And yes, the young man who was shot is black. He's rather built, dark skinned, and generally 'scare a white lady across the street' in appearance.

Don · Sep 16, 2013

I remember fondly when those of us who said "Never call the police" were considered tinfoil-hat nutters. I was really hoping that with early warnings, things would turn around before it became conventional wisdom. My bad.

regdog · Sep 16, 2013

Yorkist said:
^ Ditto.

Also, I can't really imagine calling the cops for someone knocking on my door, even at 2:30 in the morning. The first thing I would assume is that it was some drunk asshole (or some drunk friend). The second thing I would assume is that something horrible had happened and he or she had a good fucking reason to knock.

I'd call the cops if some unknown person was banging on my door at 2:30 in the morning. Crime happens everywhere and even the most innocent looking person can be a serial killer/rapist, etc. I'm not taking any chances with my life or safety.

That said, I do want to see justice for the victim and his family

regdog · Sep 16, 2013

Barbara R. said:
That was my first thought, too. The article doesn't give his race, though, or the cops.

Of course, most rapists don't knock on the door at 2:30 A.M. But I don't blame the woman for calling the cops when it happened. It wasn't her fault--it's all on the cop.

Minor Derail:

Murderers have knocked and been let in. That was what happened to Dartmouth professors Half and Suzanne Zantop. Of course it wasn't 2:30 AM but the men knocked and were let in. The Zantops always welcomed students to their home. Unfortunately these were not students.

Derail over:

Survived Car Crash. Killed by Cop

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