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WFAE's coverage of the case of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Randall Kerrick charged with voluntary manslaughter in the death of Jonathan Ferrell. The court case ended in a mistrial.

CMPD Officer Charged With Manslaughter, Due In Court Tuesday

Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office

A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer charged with voluntary manslaughter is due in court Tuesday.

Officer Randall Kerrick shot and killed an unarmed man over the weekend. His name was Jonathan Ferrell, and he was 24 years old. He wrecked his car in northeast Charlotte early Saturday morning, and then banged on the door of a home nearby around 2 a.m. The woman living there called the police.

When officers arrived, he ran toward them. Officer Kerrick fired several rounds, killing him.

Ferrell's family has hired high-profile attorney Christopher Chestnut. Chestnut and the family held a press conference Monday.

The family drove up from Florida. They and the attorney said the killing was unnecessary, but they also praised CMPD Chief Rodney Monroe for what the attorney called a bold move to quickly suspend and then charge officer Kerrick with voluntary manslaughter.

But the family still has a lot of questions, including why Kerrick had his gun raised in the first place.

Ferrell was a chemistry major and football player at Florida A&M University. He moved to Charlotte about a year ago and planned to enroll at another college. He was working two jobs to pay for school.     

Lisa Worf traded the Midwest for Charlotte in 2006 to take a job at WFAE. She worked with public TV in Detroit and taught English in Austria before making her way to radio. Lisa graduated from University of Chicago with a bachelor’s degree in English.