Willie Ferrell (left) talks Monday in Charlotte, N.C., about his relationship with his older brother, Jonathan Ferrell, at a media conference, as attorney Christopher Chestnut (center), and his mother, Georgia Ferrell (right), listen. Police were called Saturday after the former Florida A&M University football player knocked on the door of a home near where he was in a car crash. Ferrell was hit with a Taser as he approached officers and then shot, resulting in a voluntary manslaughter charge against one of the officers. BOB LEVERONE / Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - An unarmed man seeking help after a car crash over the weekend was shot 10 times by the Charlotte police officer who's now charged in his death, investigators said Monday.
The release of the information supporting the voluntary manslaughter charge came at the end of a day that also included the first public remarks by victim Jonathan A. Ferrell's family.
A family attorney and representatives of the NAACP questioned whether race played a role in the shooting of the black man by a white officer.
Ferrell's family said the 24-year-old former Florida A&M University football player moved to Charlotte about a year ago to be with his fiancee and was working two jobs. He wanted to go back to school and eventually become an automotive engineer.
"You took a piece of my heart that I can never put back," said Ferrell's mother, Georgia Ferrell, as she clutched a stuffed Winnie the Pooh doll that she said her son loved as a child.
A police news release said Officer Randall Kerrick fired 12 times at Ferrell early Saturday while responding to a breaking and entering call, hitting him 10 times. Kerrick was scheduled for a first court appearance Tuesday on the voluntary manslaughter charge.
NAACP leaders gathered Monday to both praise police for quickly filing charges and to complain about how the shooting didn't surprise them, considering portrayals of black men in popular culture and previous instances of racially inflected violence.
Ferrell family attorney Chris Chestnut wondered Monday what role race may have played in Saturday's shooting.
"The officer is white, Mr. Ferrell is black. This might be more of a reflection of where we are as a country," he said.
The encounter was set in motion around 2:30 a.m. Saturday when Ferrell's car ran off the entrance road to a suburban neighborhood some 15 miles from downtown Charlotte. A sign near the crash site advertises a neighborhood watch meeting in a few days.
After crashing his car into trees, Ferrell kicked out the back window and headed up a hill to a set of closely clustered houses.
He then started "banging on the door viciously" of a home to attract attention, Police Chief Rodney Monroe said.
The woman inside answered, thinking it was her husband coming home late from work. When she saw Ferrell, she shut the door and called police.
Monroe said he didn't think the unarmed Ferrell made threats.
Officers responding to the breaking and entering call found Ferrell on a road that only leads to the neighborhood's pool. Ferrell ran toward the officers, who tried to stop him with a Taser. Police said he continued to run toward them when Kerrick shot him. Ferrell died at the scene.
Chestnut, who has spoken with police officials, said Kerrick didn't identify himself as a police officer.
Lance LoRusso, an attorney and former police officer, said it's unusual for a police officer to be charged so quickly after a shooting. He said there is generally a waiting period while investigators review the evidence.
Ferrell's mother said Kerrick had no business being a police officer if he couldn't react properly to a man who needed help.
"I truly forgive him. I pray for him. And I pray that he gets off the police force," Georgia Ferrell said.
His brother Frank said Ferrell had dreams of being an automotive engineer.
He said he didn't know where his brother was going that night, or why he got into the accident. But he said his brother had never been in trouble before.
Original Print Headline: Unarmed man shot dead by police
US & World
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