Judge Won't Release Video of White Charlotte Cop Killing Black Man: Shot 10 Times while Seeking Help

From [HERE] After the shooting death of a former college football star who was killed by a Charlotte-Mecklengburg, North Carolina police officer in September, Civil rights activists are calling for the dashcam video to be released.

Jonathan Ferrell, a 24-year-old Black man, was seeking assistance after what was described as a “serious” car wreck. He knocked on a nearby resident’s door, who then promptly slammed it shut. The homeowner called the police, and when they arrived on the scene, one officer saw Ferrell running toward them, so he shot him ten times with his firearm.

"The shooting of Mr. Ferrell was excessive,” the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said in a statement. “Our investigation has shown that Officer Kerrick did not have a lawful right to discharge his weapon during this encounter.”

According to police, Ferrell crashed his vehicle into the woods, climbed out of his car and walked a half-mile to the nearest house. He began “banging on the door viciously,” Charlotte-Mecklenburg Chief Rodney Monroe said.  But the [white] woman who answered the door thought Ferrell was a burglar and called police shortly after 2:30 a.m. to report an attempted break-in.

Kerrick and two other responding officers surrounded Ferrell, who “immediately charged” at the police, Monroe said. One officer tried unsuccessfully to subdue Ferrell with a taser. Kerrick then fired his weapon "several times."

According to the Charlotte Observer, police said initially that Kerrick's actions were “appropriate and lawful.” But a subsequent investigation found the officer, who joined the Police Department in 2011, had "violated the law regarding voluntary manslaughter.

Monroe said there was no evidence Ferrell threatened the woman. Alcohol did not appear a factor in the crash, he added. The two other officers involved in the incident were placed on paid [vacation] administrative leave.

The group, ‘THUG’ (True Healing Under God) announced their plans to hold a rally next month. Organizers are calling for a judge to release the dashcam video of the deadly shooting of Jonathan Ferrell.

WCNC reports, “A couple of weeks ago, a judge denied that request.”

“So I believe this judge is wrong, and I will tell him to his face. And I would definitely strongly encourage him to listen to the screams of the community,” organizer John Barnett said. “In his death, we hope a lesson can be learned, police training be improved and radical racial profiling will become a thing of the past.”