N.C. police shooting (of former FAMU football student-athlete) goes to state attorney general

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina’s attorney general said Thursday that his office will handle the prosecution of a police officer charged with fatally shooting an unarmed man. Mecklenburg County District Attorney Andrew Murray said he requested the state’s help because before he was elected, Murray was a partner in the law firm representing the officer and he didn’t want to give the appearance of impropriety.

Authorities say Jonathan Ferrell was shot 10 times early on Sept. 14 by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Officer Randall Kerrick. Police have said Ferrell may have been seeking help after a car wreck when he went to a home and knocked on the door, frightening a woman into calling 911 because she thought he was trying to break in.

"This case is clearly a tragedy and we will work to bring it to a just resolution,” said Attorney General Roy Cooper. “We have accepted the Mecklenburg District Attorney’s request to take over the prosecution of this case.”

He said the Special Prosecutions unit will handle the case in the courts and State Bureau of Investigation agents will conduct an independent investigation.

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DA in Jonathan Ferrell case recuses himself

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- The district attorney in Charlotte, N.C., has recused himself from the case against a police officer charged in the killing of Jonathan Ferrell, an unarmed man the officer shot to death last weekend. Mecklenburg District Attorney Andrew Murray has referred the case to the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office, saying that he wanted to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest.

Before becoming district attorney in 2010, Murray was in private practice with a pair of defense attorney’s now representing Charlotte-Mecklenburg Officer Randall Kerrick who has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in Ferrell’s killing. Murray had been a partner with George Laughrun and Michael Greene for 14 years before being elected to the district attorney’s office.

Kerrick is accused of gunning down Ferrell in a bizarre episode in which a panicked woman called 911 to report Ferrell as a robber when he showed up on her doorstep looking for help after his car crashed along a nearby road.

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Meet Jonathan Ferrell, The Ex-Football Player Shot Dead By Police In Charlotte, NC

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Former Florida A&M University football player Jonathan Ferrell was shot dead by a police officer Saturday morning in Charlotte, N.C., as he ran toward police seeking help after surviving a car accident. It’s a tragic story, and one that has led to the cop who shot Ferrell, one Randall Kerrick, being charged with voluntary manslaughter.

But it’s not just a story, it’s also the day that a young man lost his life under terrible circumstances, and as more people find out about his death, it’s worth taking a step back and considering just who Jonathan Ferrell was.

First of all, it seems that he was a caring person, as Ferrell was nicknamed “the shepherd” because of the way he cared for the people he knew and loved, according to The Nation.

Those loved ones include a grieving mother, Georgia Ferrell, who says she has forgiven Kerrick for killing her son, who would have been 25 years old in October.

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