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CMPD officer shooting victim's fiancée speaks out about case

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For the first time, Channel 9 is hearing from the fiancée of the unarmed man shot and killed by a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer.

Cache Heidel talked about her relationship with Jonathan Ferrell in an interview with CNN Wednesday morning.

Heidel said Ferrell was the sweetest person she had ever known and, in fact, her pet named for him was Sweets.

She also talked about the night he was shot and killed, which was exactly one month ago Wednesday.

Heidel said Ferrell went out with friends he had made at Best Buy, where he worked.

Investigators said in the early morning hours, Ferrell crashed his car on Reedy Creek Pool Drive in east Charlotte.

He knocked on a woman's door to get help, but she called 911 because she thought he was an intruder.

Investigators said when officers arrived, Ferrell ran toward them and that's when shots were fired.

Heidel hopes her fiancé's death will bring change.

"Yes, that is a hope I have, that his death will resound for a country that prides itself on being diverse and inclusive, you know, accepting everyone for who they are," she said.

TIMELINE: Police details events in officer-involved shooting

CMPD Officer Randall Kerrick was charged with manslaughter hours after the shooting.

Ferrell's family attorney also spoke during the interview and called for CMPD to release the dashcam video from that night and let the public see it.

Chris Chestnut claims the department refuses to hand over copies of the video, communication between the 911 dispatcher and police, and also information on Kerrick's personnel file.

But CMPD officials told Channel 9 it provided the edited 911 call.

They also said the rest of the requests are not public record and cannot be released when there is an open and pending criminal case.

The only people who can see those records are Kerrick's defense team and state prosecutors.

For complete coverage of the case, visit our special section here.