NC officer says unarmed black man came after him

But Kerrick testified Thursday that Ferrell’s shoulders were at his waist, which would have put the dead man’s head at Kerrick’s abdomen or chest and within reach of the officer’s gun. Kerrick was the only officer who fired his gun.

The emotional Charlotte-Mecklenburg will continue his testimony on Friday when the trial resumes.

He told the prosecution that he responded to the report of a breaking and entering because he was hoping to find the person responsible. “He was only focusing on me”, Kerrick said, adding that Ferrell began “aggressively coming toward me”.

The suspended officer also testified that he was trained to shoot at the biggest center of a target because it is hard to hit a target.

Randall Kerrick says he didn’t remember how many times he fired his service weapon at an unarmed black man almost two years ago.

Prosecutors are challenging Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer Randall Kerrick’s statement to investigators and his actions on the night he shot and killed an unarmed black man.

The jury began hearing testimony last week and will decide whether Kerrick used excessive force when he fired 12 shots – eight of them at Ferrel’s fallen body – or whether he was justified because he thought Ferrell posed a deadly threat.

In a almost packed courtroom, Kerrick re-created his versions of the events that took place on September 14, 2013. And when that witness was done, the problem still wasn’t resolved and the judge called a sidebar to discuss the matter further.

He was the first officer to see Ferrell and he said Ferrell was acting erratically, pacing and slapping his hands on his thighs. Kerrick and Little testified Thursday they heard “yelling and screaming” in the distance and went to investigate.

He is charged with voluntary manslaughter. Little was the second officer to arrive on the scene. When Ferrell was within 3-5 feet of him, Kerrick feared Ferrell would take his gun, and opened fire.

After Little missed with his Taser, Kerrick said, Ferrell ran toward him, ignoring orders to “Get on the ground!” three times.

“I thought I was going to die because I could do nothing that would stop him”, Kerrick said.

Dash cam video from a third officer’s cruiser showed Ferrell walking casually toward the officers, then suddenly running after Little pointed a Taser at Ferrell. In it, the red dots from Little’s Taser lights are visible, but there’s nothing on the audio portion to suggest that Ferrell asked the officer to shoot him.