North Carolina police officer charged after fatal shooting of unarmed man

By Daniel Arkin, Staff Writer, NBC News

A North Carolina police officer involved in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man early Saturday was charged with voluntary manslaughter and is in custody, authorities said.

Officer Randall Kerrick, 27, turned himself in to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office late Saturday, according to a statement from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department spokesman Keith R. Trietley.

The shooting victim, Jonathan A. Ferrell, 24, was a former football player for Florida A&M University, school officials said Sunday, according to the Associated Press. He had only recently moved to North Carolina.

Ferrell had apparently been involved in a car wreck off a northeast Charlotte road early Saturday. He then sought help at a nearby residence. A woman answered the door, believing her husband had come home from work. And when she didn’t recognize Ferrell, she immediately called 911 around 2:30 a.m, reporting a robbery attempt.

Officers responding to the woman’s breaking-and-entering call discovered Ferrell, who matched the woman's description of the possible robbery suspect, near the home, police said. As they approached him, Ferrell allegedly charged at the officers, one of whom stunned him with a Taser.

Then, Ferrell allegedly continued to run toward the responding officers. That’s when Kerrick fired his gun, striking Ferrell multiple times, police said. Ferrell was pronounced dead at the scene. His family was then notified of his death.

A preliminary police investigation showed that Ferrell was unarmed during his encounter with officers.

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."