Two years ago, 24-year-old Jonathan Ferrell was shot and killed by Charlotte police officer Randall Kerrick. For the first time, Ferrell’s family went to the site to place a wreath in the ditch where Ferrell died along Reedy Creek Road in northeast Mecklenburg County.
It was a somber scene as Jonathan Ferrell’s family and friends walked along the sidewalk he used as he approached police that fatal night two years ago.
Ferrell’s brother Willie Ferrell shook his head and signed as he guided his mother Georgia to the ditch where his brother died, to lay a wreath and pray with family friends as they held hands.
“Keep us strong and help us understand the fight is not over and justice will prevail,” Willie Ferrell said.
“We must have justice Jesus, and it’s not over until you say so,” Georgia Ferrell prayed.
The night Ferrell was killed police were dispatched to the scene after Jonathan Ferrell banged on the door of a homeowner, seeking help following his accident. She took him for a burglar and called 911. Kerrick was one of three officers who answered the call. He pointed his gun at Ferrell and another officer aimed a taser at him. Ferrell ran towards the officers and Kerrick shot him 10 times. Georgia Ferrell said being on the site of Ferrell’s death made her feel as if her son had been killed all over.
“When I walk out here I can see my child laying there, bleeding out, with his hands behind his back. I can feel his presence,” she said.
Kerrick’s voluntary manslaughter trial, ended in a hung jury. Attorney General Roy Cooper opted not to retry Kerrick and dismissed the charge. Willie Ferrell says although they want Kerrick to pay for killing his brother, they have forgiven him and would like to talk to him.
“We’ve been praying for Officer Kerrick, for his family. I wrote a letter to try to contact him. We’ve been trying to do everything, but if somebody don’t want to talk to you, you can’t force yourself to talk to them,” Willie Ferrell said.
The Ferrell family, which is from Florida, says they plan to keep a presence in Charlotte to help the city heal. They plan to do that through the foundation they established in Ferrell’s name.