Responding Officer’s Testimony to Continue as Kerrick Trial Resumes

Georgia Ferrell, right, mother of Jonathan Ferrell, is hugged by her son William Ferrell, left, during a news conference on the first day of the trial of former Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer Randall Kerrick, in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, July 20, 2015.

On the September 2013 video, Jonathan Ferrell runs out of the camera’s view just before he is shot and Kerrick can’t be seen firing his gun 12 times. But the sound of each shot can be heard, and the voice of someone yelling “Get on the ground!” three times.

According to police, Ferrell wrecked his fiancee’s vehicle on his way home after an outing with friends and sought help at a house in a neighborhood east of Charlotte.

On Wednesday, dashcam video from Neal’s vehicle was played for jurors. The critical portion lasted only about five seconds.

He testified that after the first round of shots, he saw Kerrick sitting up in the ditch with Ferrell on top of his lower legs. One officer steps in front of him and then jumps to the right side as Ferrell continues running forward and out of the camera’s view. Neal says Kerrick fired eight more times as Ferrell made a crawling motion.

The audio recording was captured by Neal’s uniform microphone.

Kerrick, who only had two years on the force at that time, was charged with voluntary manslaughter in 2014, only to be indicted shortly after.

On redirect, Neal told prosecutors that he didn’t draw his own weapon and never thought about pulling it. He said he would have opted to put Ferrell in a sleeper hold instead.

Prosecutors said Ferrell continued to aggressively beat the door, leaving it dented.

A lawsuit – that Charlotte reportedly settled this year for $2.25 million – alleges that Kerrick used “stealth and surprise” in approaching Ferrell and “negligently failed to realize that, because of the dim lighting in the area, Jonathan would be startled, frightened and unable to see his approach and commands”. He also agreed that he told investigators Ferrell looked like he was “amped up” and was in a “zombie state”.

Police have said Kerrick and two other officers responded to what they believed was a “breaking and entering” call.

Follow Mark Becker and WSOC on Twitter for real-time updates from outside the courthouse from our reporters. Enlarge AP Former Florida A&M University football player Jonathan Ferrell.

The video appears to show Ferrell walking toward officers as the police vehicle with the camera rolling pulls up. Then, what appears to be a Taser light shows up on his chest. Officers say Ferrell was unarmed.

Kerrick was released from jail on a $50,000 bond. The legal limit in North Carolina is.08.

George Laughrun and Michael J. Greene will represent Kerrick.

Channel 9 will have a team of reporters covering the Kerrick trial each day.