The 24-year-old former Florida A&M football player who was shot to death by a cop was not drunk. According to toxicology reports, Jonathan Ferrell also did not have any illegal drugs in his system when he was shot to death by officer Randall Kerrick on September 14 in Charlotte, NC.
Chris Chestnut, the family’s attorney, said the toxicology reports said Ferrell’s blood alcohol level was below the legal limit and he was just trying to find help after being injured in a car crash. He was at 0.6 and the North Carolina limit is 0.8.
“This confirms everything we’ve been saying since the day that Jonathan was killed: That this was an All-American guy who gave a friend a ride home and was just trying to get home himself when he had a car accident. And when he was runs to the officer for help, the officer shoots him 10 times,” Chestnut told The Associated Press.
Ferrell dropped off a friend and was on his way home when his car ran off the entrance road to a neighborhood. He crashed into some trees and had to kick out the back window in order to escape. It was 2:30 AM, and he knocked very loudly on 32-year-old Sarah McCartney’s door. She thought he was trying to break in and called the cops. Kerrick was one of three officers who answered the call. The officers found him on a road and when he advanced towards them they tried to stop him with a Taser. It did not stop him, and Kerrick opened fire on him. His autopsy revealed he was shot 10 times and Kerrick fired 12 times.
Kerrick is charged with voluntary manslaughter. Police Chief Rodney Monroe said the shooting was excessive and Kerrick did not have reasonable cause to discharge his weapon. Kerrick’s attorneys said he did because Ferrell did not obey orders to stop.
Ferrell moved to Charlotte a year ago when his fiancee took a new job. He was attending Johnson C. Smith University, worked two jobs and wanted to be an automotive engineer. He did not have a criminal record.