UPDATE: The attorney for Jonathan Ferrell's family is holding a press conference in uptown Monday morning at 11:00, and the Charlotte NAACP is holding a rally at 1:00 at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center. WFAE will update this story throughout the day.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police charged one of their own officers with voluntary manslaughter over the weekend. Officer Randall Kerrick shot and killed an unarmed man. .
Early Saturday morning, a 24-year-old man wrecked his car in northeast Charlotte and went looking for help.
According to police reports, Jonathan Ferrell banged on the door of a home on Reedy Creek Road around two in the morning, frightening the woman living there. She called 911.
When police arrived and got out of their cars, Ferrell ran toward them. An officer tried to tase Ferrell, but it didn't work. And as Ferrell kept coming, officer Randall Kerrick shot him. It's unclear how many times. The police report says Kerrick fired several rounds and struck Ferrell multiple times. Ferrell was unarmed.
A CMPD investigation concluded officer Kerrick did not have a lawful right to shoot Ferrell, so police charged Kerrick with voluntary manslaughter. In this case, that means Kerrick used excessive force in self-defense but did not intend to kill Ferrell.
In a statement, Charlotte police said the incident has devastated a family and caused a great deal of sadness and anxiety in CMPD. Officer Kerrick is 27 years old and has been with CMPD for about two and a half years. The Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office has released him on $50,000 bond, and his first court hearing is Monday Tuesday.
Correction: Sheriff's office spokeswoman Julia Rush said early Sunday that Kerrick's first court appearance is Monday. It is actually Tuesday afternoon at 1:30.