Judge: Family of man killed by CMPD officer should have access to evidence

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A federal court judge said attorneys for the family of a man killed by a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officer should have access to evidence in the case that's been denied them so far.
 
US District Court judge Graham Mullen ordered the family's civil lawsuit be put on hold for 60 days but also indicated he wants their attorneys to have access to information they've been asking for.
 
Jonathan Ferrell was shot and killed in September of 2013 by CMPD Officer Randall Kerrick.  Kerrick is now charged with voluntary manslaughter.

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Kerrick and the City of Charlotte had asked the court to put the Ferrell family's civil suit on hold until after the criminal case is resolved. 
 
Tuesday, the judge issued a stay of 60 days, but he also told attorneys on both sides that Ferrell's family deserves to have access to some of the evidence that's been collected so far.  "Eventually, as his honor indicated, we'll get the criminal discovery, which will tell us a lot," said Charles Monnett, one of the attorneys representing the family. 
 
In court documents, Monnett complained he had yet to see the controversial dash cam video showing events leading up the shooting by Kerrick. 
 
The judge also said that family attorneys should be able to interview the other two CMPD officers who were on scene at the time of the shooting. 
 
"That is important to preserve their testimony because as he (Mullen) said, you never know what could happen to someone.  We'd like the chance to hear their side of what happened," he said.
 
Mullen made clear that evidence directly connected to Kerrick will remain off limits to the Ferrell family attorneys until after the criminal case is over.

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