By: Sean O’Brien
Assistant Opinion Editor
Police killed a man in Charlotte, N.C. around 2 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14,2013. His crime? Possibly “running to them for help.”
According to CNN.com, the Charlotte police department has been able to piece together that Jonathan Ferrell, a 24-year-old former Florida A&M University footballer, wrecked his car that Saturday. After crawling out the rear window, Ferrell sought help at the closest house, knocking on the door.
The homeowner answered the knocking that she believed to be her husband’s, found it was not and panicked. She then called 911, and three officers were dispatched to her home. Upon their arrival, Ferrell began to run to them. After an “unsuccessful” attempt at using a stun gun, Officer Randall Kerrick opened fire, wounding Ferrell, who died at the scene.
This sequence of events was awful to write down. What’s worse was seeing how it could have been avoided with 20/20 hindsight.
First off, the police officers hold the most blame in my eyes. Obviously Kerrick does, but the other two at the scene must also be held responsible. The fact that three men only attempted to stun Ferrell once is questionable at best, especially since I personally read “unsuccessful” attempt to stun as “the officer with the stun gun missed.”
But not all blame can be placed on the officers.
Frankly, it’s probably not a good idea to run toward the police officers that were just called on you, especially if you’re a former strong safety for a college football team.
There is one individual involved on whom I place no blame, and that would be the woman who called 911.
The woman, identified as Sarah McCartney in an MSNBC post, acted intelligently in her situation. Considering that she was alone in the house with only her 1-year-old son, she did exactly what she should have after answering the door to a stranger at 2 a.m. She shut the door and called for help.
I can’t blame her for calling the cops, either. According to the Florida A&M University football roster from the 2010 season, Ferrell was 5’11” and weighed somewhere around 200 pounds. A mother alone in the house with her infant child has every reason to panic when a built guy starts hammering on her door in the middle of the night.
To the merit of the police, however, they reportedly have not shied away from the issue, publicly admitting that Officer Kerrick did not follow proper procedure. He has since been charged with voluntary manslaughter and has turned himself in, he’s currently released on a $50,000 bail while the other two officers are on paid leave from the department.
Regardless, this is a lousy situation from all angles, one that could have been avoided if cooler heads had prevailed. Hopefully the cooler heads with be present when it comes to settling the case to make the painful process as swift as possible for all parties.
And with any luck this tragedy will inspire those who find themselves in similar situations to proceed with greater caution.
obriensp11@bonaventure.edu
