This year has been a trying one when it comes to gun use in America. Unfortunately, Jonathan Ferrell became the newest name linked to wrongful death at the hand of a trigger-happy police officer. On Sept. 14, an unarmed Ferrell was gunned down in North Carolina as he ran towards police after surviving a car crash. Early Saturday morning, he crashed his car in a rural area near Charlotte and pulled himself from the wreckage in search for help. He reached the doorstep of Sarah McCartney and knocked loudly to get her attention. McCartney opened the door expecting to see her husband, but when she saw Ferrell in his place, she closed the door on him in a panic and called the police to report an attempted robbery:
“I need help. There’s a guy breaking into my front door, he’s trying to kick it down,” she pleaded to the 911 dispatcher. “Oh my God… He’s in the front yard yelling. I need help.” She saw the police outside of her home and is heard on the 911 tape saying, “Oh, please let them get him.”
Police officer Randall Kerrick and his colleagues honored her request and responded promptly to the breaking and entering call. They shot at Ferrell 12 times; ten of the bullets hit the 24-year-old Florida A&M University football player. According to MSNBC.com, Kerrick has since been charged with voluntary manslaughter, and is currently out on $50,000 bail.
Listen to the frantic 911 call above. —Stacy-Ann Ellis