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Kerrick Trial - Day 21 - August 18

What to know:

  • Randall "Wes" Kerrick is accused of shooting and killing unarmed Jonathan Ferrell in September 2013.
  • Kerrick faces up to 11 years in prison if convicted.
  • Dashcam video from Officer Neal's cruiser was released during the first week of the trial.

KERRICK TRIAL ARCHIVE

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jurors are facing the question of whether Officer Randall "Wes" Kerrick used excessive force or acted as a reasonable officer when he shot and killed Jonathan Ferrell in September of 2013.
 
Legal expert James Wyatt said the jury has to decide if Kerrick did what he should have done in his situation beyond any reasonable doubt.
 
"You can only defend yourself with reasonable force," said Wyatt. "They are going to have to decide as a representative of our community what is reasonable for our police officers to do."
 
During closing arguments on Tuesday, the defense tried to drive home Kerrick was defending himself against a charging, out-of-control Jonathan Ferrell and Kerrick only had seconds to decide shooting him
 
"What he saw what he felt, what he heard, he was rock solid. You heard him up there two years later he can't talk about it without getting emotional," said defense attorney George Laughrun.
 
The prosecution argued dash cam video showed Ferrell had no weapon and Kerrick's lethal force was excessive.
 
In instructing the jury on the law, Judge Robert Ervin zeroed in on the issues of self-defense and excessive force.
 
"Was Officer Kerrick reasonable in his beliefs and did he take reasonable actions in defending himself or other officers?" said Wyatt. "Even though there's been a lot of evidence about police standards and policies, at the end of the day the jury's going to decide what is excessive force and what is reasonable."

5:12 p.m. update: Regardless of their personal opinions about this trial, many people are watching closely for the verdict.

Similar cases across the nation have spurred violence,  but many are hoping Charlotte responds to the verdict peacefully.

“I don't think Charlotte would go that far, but you never know l, I hope not,” Tequila Douglass said.

https://twitter.com/TinaTerryWSOC9/status/633743527017447424

City leaders are doing more than just hoping.

During jury selection, representatives from the fire marshal’s office visited downtown businesses, asking them to bring in objects at night that could be thrown through windows.

They even asked them to keep trash cans empty, to prevent people from setting the contents on fire.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police sent a statement saying while it can't discuss specific steps of the security plan, but their goal is to ensure that all constitutional freedoms are protected.

5 p.m. update: The jury has been sent home for the afternoon. Deliberations will continue Wednesday morning.

https://twitter.com/jimbradleyWSOC9/status/633745023989714948

4:51 p.m. update: After weeks of testimony and evidence, the voluntary manslaughter case involving a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer is now in the hands of a jury.

Officer Randall “Wes” Kerrick faces up to nine years in prison for shooting and killing Jonathan Ferrell.

Prosecutor Adren Harris would go first and he asked the jury to think about the young man who was killed and then to look one more time at the dash cam video.

Harris told the jury to trust what they see and not what they heard from Kerrick and the other officers.

“Ladies and gentlemen, people lie.  The video doesn't lie,” Harris said.

Harris told jurors that Kerrick is not a bad person, but that he made a bad choice not to holster his gun and use other, non-lethal options.

“Why not? He panicked.  He abandoned all of his training. He abandoned everything he learned and fired those shots," Harris said.

Then it was defense attorney George Laughrun's turn, and he also talked about choices, starting with Kerrick's choice to be a police officer.

“They are warriors ladies and gentlemen.  A police officer is in a battle everyday he goes to roll call,” Laughrun said.

Laughrun also asked the jury to watch the dash cam video again and told them just because Ferrell was unarmed doesn't mean he was harmless.

He asked jurors to look again at the door that Ferrell had allegedly kicked and the sketch of the medical examiner showing how Ferrell was practically on top of Kerrick.

He reminded jurors that Kerrick's future is in their hands.

12:25 p.m. update: The jury is receiving instructions from the judge and will begin deliberating around 2 p.m. Tuesday.

https://twitter.com/MarkBeckerWSOC9/status/633675330004348932

11:47 a.m. update: Closing arguments started Tuesday morning in the trial of Randall "Wes" Kerrick. It was one last chance for both sides to sway the jury.

The prosecution went first and told the jury Jonathan Ferrell was not a threat when Kerrick shot and killed him in September 2013.

They accused the defense of trying to demonize Ferrell and pointed out that he was looking for help that night, not trying to burglarize a home.

https://twitter.com/MarkBeckerWSOC9/status/633660987476807682

The state pointed out that Ferrell didn't make any threats and didn't have any weapons.

Then the defense had its turn and painted a different picture for the jury. Kerrick’s defense attorney repeatedly referred to a door that had dents in it from where Ferrell kicked at the door trying to break in.

He also referred to the dashcam video and what it didn’t show -- that officers who were at the scene testified Ferrell had charged at Kerrick and yelled "shoot me, shoot me."

The prosecution said there was no attempt by the officers to talk to Ferrell.

https://twitter.com/AngelaWSOC9/status/633639789707853824

“Do you know why they got out of their car with their Tasers and firearms? ‘Cause in their minds Jon had already committed a crime,” prosecutor Adren Harris said.

“How did Wes Kerrick's DNA get underneath Ferrell's fingers nails? Because he hit him in the mouth. He was bleeding blood on his uniform because he was assaulted,” defense attorney George Laughrun said.

At one point in closing arguments, the defense attorney accused the state of making this trial about race and pulling the race card by quoting Martin Luther King Jr. in his closing arguments.

6:04 a.m. update: Closing arguments will begin Tuesday morning in the voluntary manslaughter trial for CMPD officer Randall "Wes" Kerrick.

The state and the defense will have one last shot to argue whether or not Kerrick used excessive force when he shot and killed Jonathan Ferrell in September 2013.

On Monday, the defense called to the witness stand Dave Coultier, a "use of force" expert who helped form CMPD training guidelines and policy. His testimony directly contradicted what the state's use of force expert testified to last week, because Coultier said given the situation, Kerrick was justified when he drew his gun and shot Ferrell.

He said from his interpretation of the evidence, Kerrick was in danger and attacked.

Also on Monday, the jury heard from CMPD's DNA expert who axamined at blood stains on Kerrick and his gun after the shooting.

Eve Rossi testified that she found stains on Kerrick's gun, boots and police uniform and said when she ran tests on all those items she got the same answers.

"The DNA profile that I obtained from the swabbing stain matched the DNA profile from Jonathan Ferrell,” Rossi testified.

Channel 9’s legal expert, James Wyatt, said that still leaves many unanswered questions. Was the blood there because Ferrell was climbing up Kerrick when he was shot or was it blood splatter? He said it's up to the jury to interpret.

"This is not a case about racial issues,” said Wyatt. “This is about whether one police officer complied with the standards for his police department when he used lethal force."

https://twitter.com/lizfosterWSOC9/status/633620873530884097

Closing arguments will begin at 9 a.m.

Channel 9 will send a breaking news alert once a verdict is reached in the trial -- sign up to receive them on your device here.

Kerrick case background

Randall "Wes" Kerrick is accused of shooting and killing unarmed Jonathan Ferrell on Sept. 14, 2013.

Three officers were called to the 7500 block of Reedy Creek Road in east Mecklenburg County around 2:30 that morning. A woman told police Ferrell was banging on her front door.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said Ferrell ran toward the officers when they arrived. One of the officers deployed his Taser, but it was unsuccessful. Kerrick fired his weapon 12 times at close range. Ten of the shots hit Ferrell, killing him.

Police later discovered a wrecked car that Ferrell was driving about 500 yards away. Officers say Ferrell was unarmed.

Around 9:30 p.m. Sept. 14, 2013, Kerrick was charged with voluntary manslaughter, marking the first time an officer in Charlotte had been charged with manslaughter for actions on duty.

Kerrick was released from jail on a $50,000 bond. He remains suspended without pay from CMPD.

Ferrell, a former football player at Florida A&M University, was living in Charlotte with his fiancée. A toxicology report released in November showed Ferrell had 60 mg/dl of ethanol in his system, equal to a .06 if blown during a DWI check point. The legal limit in North Carolina is .08.

The Ferrell family filed a civil suit against the city, county, CMPD and former Police Chief Rodney Monroe on Jan. 14, 2014.The suit was settled in May 2015 for $2.25 million.

George Laughrun and Michael J. Greene will represent Kerrick. His attorneys were hired by the Fraternal Order of Police.

Recent stories:

Channel 9 will have a team of reporters covering the Kerrick trial each day. Follow @wsoctv on Twitter for continuous updates.

Twitter handles for reporters who will be covering the trial:

Click here to see a timeline of events in this case

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