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Kerrick Trial - Day 16 - August 11

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.
  • Dash cam video from Officer Neal's cruiser was released last week.

KERRICK TRIAL ARCHIVE

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Officer Randall "Wes" Kerrick is charged with voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of unarmed black man Jonathan Ferrell in 2013.

4:30 p.m. update: Prosecutors ended their case with blockbuster testimony from a police captain who used to handle training for Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.

Capt. Mike Campagna started by showing the jury, up close, exactly how a Taser works nd when officers should and should not use it.

“I'm going to show on the screen above some things in the picture you may not readily be able to see,” Campagna said.

He used freeze frames from the dash cam video from the night Officer Randall Wes Kerrick shot and killed unarmed Jonathan Ferrell.

He explained why the Taser didn't work when Officer Theron Little tried to stop the oncoming Jonathan Ferrell.

“So this indicates to me that the Taser was fired behind where Mr. Ferrell was,” Campagna said.

With the Taser missing the mark, Campagna said Kerrick did the right thing pulling his gun.

“Officer Kerrick steps out and draws his firearm. That was consistent with our training,” he said.

At that point, with no indication that Ferrell was armed, he told prosecutor Teresa Postell that Kerrick should have looked for other non-lethal options and put his gun away.

"Captain Campagna, was shooting Jonathan consistent with law enforcement training and CMPD policy?" Postel asked.

“It was not,” Campagna said.

3:36 p.m. update: The defense called a psychologist from Western Carolina University to the stand first.

https://twitter.com/MarkBeckerWSOC9/status/631184989225418756

3:04 p.m. update: The state has rested its case in the Kerrick trial.

The defense asked for the judge to dismiss the case saying there’s “not a scintilla of evidence" that Kerrick is guilty of voluntary manslaughter. The judge denied the motion.

https://twitter.com/MarkBeckerWSOC9/status/631178929081085952

11:55 a.m. UPDATE: The jury has heard from just one witness so far Tuesday -- a CMPD captain who helped write the book on the department's "Use of Force" policy while he was at the training academy.

Capt. Mike Campagna demonstrated how officers are trained to use a Taser and when to use that versus other types of force -- from certain takedowns to deadly force, including shooting.

https://twitter.com/MarkBeckerWSOC9/status/631103007191662592

Campagna said they train officers to prevent being assaulted by being proactive, and said that Officer Theron Little was justified in using a Taser on Ferrell as he started running toward him and Kerrick.

“And when it's on, it's ready to go…pulling the trigger will deploy the cartridge,” said Campagna.

Campagna used freeze frames from the dash cam video to explain what officers should do and when they should do it.

He said that Kerrick was justified in pulling his gun out of his holster, but just before noon he told the jury that Kerrick was not justified in firing his weapon.

https://twitter.com/jimbradleyWSOC9/status/631131814007033857

Campagna said that the threat posed by Ferrell was not what he classified as "aggravated aggression" and so he said Kerrick should have transitioned to using non-lethal force.

Prosecutors are close to wrapping their case up and it may happen later Tuesday. If so, the defense could begin their case Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning.

6:30 a.m. UPDATE: A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police captain will testify Tuesday about the department's policy for using force – key evidence in the manslaughter trial of Officer Randall "Wes" Kerrick.

Capt. Mike Campagna's testimony is very important because the jury could hear his opinions about Kerrick's actions the night he shot and killed Jonathan Ferrell.

It will bring to light the central question in this trial -- whether Kerrick used excessive force when he shot Ferrell 10 times the night of Sept. 14, 2013, or if he was simply following police protocol.

The testimony will come a day after the judge unsealed key depositions from a civil case that Ferrell's family filed. While the deposition was heavily redacted, it does reveal the family's attorney questioned CMPD training.

Watch more from the trial:

Those documents did factor into the city’s decision to pay the Ferrell family $2.5 million.

On Monday, the jury heard from CMPD Sgt. Ray Williams about officers using excessive force.

“Officers shall only use the amount of force that is objectively reasonable and necessary under circumstances,” Williams testified.

None of the three Majors listed in the civil trial deposition have testified in the criminal trial, but they still could.

  • WATCH a condensed version of the dash cam video released for the first time in the trial:

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TIMELINE: Police detail of events in officer-involved shooting

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:

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