
Charlotte police officer shooting an unarmed man, 24-year-old Jonathan A. Ferrell, 10 times after he was seeking help following a car crash. I like CNN and read it often and I am sure they try their best to report the news accurately.
In the report, CNN stated that Ferrell crashed into trees off a northeast Charlotte road early Saturday. Ferrell walked to the nearest house and knocked on the door. The woman at the house called 911 and the police responded. When they arrived, apparently Ferrell ran toward the officers, who tried to stop him with a Taser. Ferrell continued to run toward them. Then Officer Randall Kerrick fired 12 times, striking Ferrell 10 times and killing him. What happened to the Taser? Did it miss? Did Ferrell continue to run even after he was tased? I would think that if he was tased, he did not continue to run. My guess is that the Taser missed.
Now I wonder why he continued to run after the police tried to tase him. He must have stopped running after the first shot stuck him. Why did the officer shoot him nine more times? My guess is that the officer fired rapidly, not waiting to see if his first shoot had any affect. The report indicates that there was more than one officer. What was the second officer doing during this shooting? The
police charged the shooting officer with manslaughter.
I have many more questions:
1. At what distance did the officer fire? Ten feet? Twenty feet? Thirty feet? It makes a difference.
2. How long did it take the police to determine there had been a car crash?
3. Ferrell was black. Was the officer also black? Was race a factor?
4. This happened around 2:30 AM. What was the visibility? Full moon or no moon? Flashlights? Spot light? Street lights? Pitch black? Foggy?
5. The report indicated that the accident was rather bad. Was Ferrell injured? Was he bleeding from the accident?
6. Did Ferrell have a cell phone? Did he try to call anyone?
7. Did the police believe that Ferrell was armed?