Given a second try, a Mecklenburg County grand jury indicted a police officer Monday in connection with the shooting death last fall of an unarmed Charlotte man.
Just before 4 p.m., the voluntary manslaughter indictment of Police Officer Randall Kerrick became public. The officer was arrested Sept. 14 after he shot Jonathan Ferrell 10 times during a predawn confrontation northeast of Charlotte. If convicted, the 28-year-old could spend between three and 11 years in prison.
via CMPD Officer Kerrick indicted in shooting of unarmed man | CharlotteObserver.com.
In a case with unfortunate political and racial undertones, this incident does little to further trust and respect between civilians, police. Last week, Meckenberg grand jury refused to indict former Charlotte-Meckenberg Police Officer Randall Kerrick in the on-duty shooting death of Jonathan Ferrel. The same grand jury that refused the indictment had “true billed” or returned indictments on 276 other cases the same day so this is a truly unusual incident. But keep in mind, the man’s own department saw fit to arrest him within two days of the shooting, That too is highly unusual.
Attorney General Roy Cooper responded by sending the case to the county’s other sitting grand jury with the same charges. In fact, Cooper stacked the deck pretty heavily and that may have more to do with political aspirations than it does real justice. Cooper is expected to run for governor. As if to ensure an indictment on the second go around, he sent twice as many witnesses to this second grand jury, including two of Kerrick’s own CMPD colleagues.
Kerrick’s defense attorneys protested and sought to block the second indictment according to the Charlotte Observer. “How in the world is that grand jury supposed to go into that courtroom and make a decision when you’ve also got the NAACP outside?” defense attorney Michael Greene asked Superior Court Judge Bob Bell. “How is Randall Kerrick supposed to get a fair trial and due process?” Bell refused to block the indictment.
How this will all play out remains to be seen. Unfortunately, it may very well become a circus similar to the Travon Martin incident. Kerrick is facing three to eleven years in prison in addition to a civil suit brought by Jonathan Ferrel’s family
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/01/27/4643483/judge-denies-effort-to-block-grand.html#storylink=cpy
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He was a well-known face in the movement for the SAFE Act, the state law that made carrying a gun on school property a felony. He was also a familiar presence in the hallways of the city’s Harvey Austin Elementary School, where he worked in the after-school program and mentored students.
