No Retrial For White Officer Randall Kerrick Who Killed Black Man
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Randall Kerrick will not be retried. The judge ruled a mistrial, based on the last week jury's 8-4 decision in favour of his acquittal, said North Carolina state prosecutors on Friday.
Kerrick had shot dead Jonathan Ferrell, a Black former football college player, on September 4, 2013, even though he had been unarmed.
"In consideration of the jurors' comments, the evidence available to the state, and our background in criminal trials, it is our prosecutors' unanimous belief a retrial will not yield a different result," Senior Deputy Attorney General Robert Montgomery said, according to the nbcnews.
The charge against Kerrick was that of voluntary manslaughter of Ferrell, 24, in a traffic accident. Why did he use extreme force on Ferrell, who just climbed out of his damaged vehicle and walked into a nearby house to solicit help.
In the house, a woman thought that he was a housebreaker, and called 911.
Attorney General Roy Cooper admitted that Ferrell's family and supporters were "perturbed with the outcome of the trial", yet he said that he would force law enforcement officers to use more "consistent training" while they are on duty using deadly force, according to hngn.
"Officers must be held accountable when they do not follow their training," said Cooper, according to the Charlotte Observer. "Lethal force should be the last option, and training needs to reinforce that."
