It isn’t exactly certain why the unarmed man was shot to death by police, or why he continued to approach police after being tasered, but after the smoke cleared, it turned out the man was Jonathan Ferrell, a former football player for Florida A&M University, and that he was apparently approaching police seeking help after a severe car accident.
As to what caused the car accident, that is unclear, but Ferrell had to escape through the back window. When he pounded on the door of a nearby house, at 2:30 a.m., apparently seeking help, and possibly disoriented, the woman at home called 911, thinking he might be attempting to rob her. When police arrived, they found the man nearby, and after he approached, first Tased, then repeatedly shot him, though he was unarmed. Jonathan Ferrell did not survive the gunshots.
Though police initially said the encounter as “appropriate and lawful,” they later changed their mind and said “the investigation showed that the subsequence shooting of Mr. Ferrell was excessive,” and “Kerrick did not have a lawful right to discharge his weapon during this encounter.” The officer, Randall Kerrick, was therefore charged with voluntary manslaughter, which means, under Carolina law, according to CNN, using “excessive force” in exercising ”imperfect self-defense.”
Kerrick has a first court appearance on Monday.