Police Officer Accused in Fatal Shooting Resigns From Force
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The white Charlotte police officer whose trial in the shooting death of an unarmed black man ended with a deadlocked jury has resigned from the force and reached a settlement with the city, officials said Thursday.
Randall Kerrick resigned from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department effective Oct. 2, the officials said in a statement.
Kerrick will receive almost $113,000, subject to taxes and standard deductions. The city will pay just over $50,000 to the attorney who represented Kerrick in the civil suit brought against him by the family of Jonathan Ferrell. The city reached a $2.2 million settlement with Ferrell's family in May.
But the statement said Charlotte will not pay any legal expenses for Kerrick's criminal defense. The agreement, which officials said contains no admission of fault or liability, includes a release of all potential legal claims.
George Laughrun, who represented Kerrick in his trial, did not return a telephone call seeking comment Thursday.
Kerrick was charged with voluntary manslaughter in Ferrell's death. Police say Ferrell crashed his car on the morning of Sept. 14, 2013, and went to a nearby house and banged on the door, apparently seeking help. The resident called police, and three officers responded. Investigators say one deployed his Taser without apparent effect on Ferrell before Kerrick fired 12 shots, 10 of which hit him.
Kerrick testified that he repeatedly fired because Ferrell kept charging at him and he didn't think his weapon was even working.
Prosecutors said nonlethal force should have been used to subdue Ferrell, a former Florida A&M football player. Kerrick's attorneys said the officer feared for his life when he shot and killed Ferrell while responding to a breaking-and-entering call.
Despite calls for prosecutors to retry the case, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper announced that the state would not seek a new trial for Kerrick.
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(Photo: Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office/Handout via Reuters/Landov)
