Monday, April 20, 2015

CMPD Officer Wes Kerrick's Attorneys File Several Motions

WCCB:

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - With a July 20 criminal trial date rapidly approaching, CMPD Officer Wes Kerrick's attorneys filed multiple motions Friday, including a "not guilty" plea in the 2013 shooting death of Jonathan Ferrell. George Laughrun and Michael Greene also filed a motion to dismiss the voluntary manslaughter charge their client faces, saying the state had no grounds to re-submit an indictment to a second grand jury after the first grand jury declined to indict the officer. 

The attorneys also cited unusually high publicity in this case as grounds for a change of venue and moving the trial out of Mecklenburg County, as well as permission to question potential jurors privately, permission to take the jury to the crime scene, prevent the state from referring to Ferrell as "victim" and sequester witnesses.    One of the most detailed documents is the eight-page motion for change of venue. It outlines what Kerrick says happened that night on September 14, including that Ferrell never told officers he needed help or had been in a car accident, disobeyed multiple orders to stop advancing and get on the ground. Kerrick says he fired the first bullet after Ferrell sprinted toward him, was within arm's reach and reached toward his own waistband. After that shot, Kerrick says he and Ferrell fell to the ground in a ditch and fought, with Ferrell on top of Kerrick.   Kerrick says Ferrell punched him in the face and grabbed his service weapon. Then, Kerrick fired his gun "several times," until he says he could get from underneath Ferrell and stop him from advancing.   Kerrick fired 12 shots that night. 10 hit Ferrell. Kerrick remains on unpaid leave with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department as this case moves through the court system.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Releasing the dash cam video would solve the controversy if the video shows either what the Kerrick attorneys say or what the Ferrell attorneys say about events they have announced they saw in the video.

The Ferrell's attorneys said THEY SAW what happened and Johnathan did not reach for anything, etc.. They didn't say it was off camera.

Therefore, it should be possible to compare the video to the Kerrick's statements. Sometimes seeing still isn't believing, though. Imagine if we only saw that police dash cam video of an officer ramming a suspect with his car at 40 mph and didn't know the rest of the story.

The public has been denied correct public information again and the police chief, manager, and other Charlotte "leadership" continue to have legal and political coverage for doing the wrong thing.

No public confidence. And we shouldn't feel confident in this crew of losers.

Hope the truth comes out. Lawyers will lie in motions. Who knows who is telling the truth?

Sad for everyone involved.
Sad for Charlotte.

Anonymous said...

3 Officers...One indicted, and the other two had better tell the truth. Besides that it is physical evidence, which will be disregarded by the parties who do not "want" the evidence to show what it does. However, of an agency of around 1500, a nation will draw a conclusion based on one man--his alleged actions, and how the news frames spin it. No need for truth or facts...a "brotha" died. "Cast your bucket down." If you don't get the reference then you don't know enough. This is Idiocracy in its infancy.

Anonymous said...

Sad for all those who serve the community on a daily basis ... you couldn't pay me enough to want to be a cop in this country right now. God bless to those who are tough enough to handle it. Lord knows I'm not.

Anonymous said...

So Freddie Gray had spine/neck surgery a week before the incident due to a previous car accident. If that is true, he should have been at home in bed. It probably didn't help that he ran and also wasn't buckled into the van so he might have gotten slung around a bit.

Anonymous said...

Glad to see the city had an extra $2 million dollars just laying around. Hasn't even gone to trial yet!!! Maybe that's why we're $22 million in the hole Carlee! Friggen limp wristed fruitcake!

Anonymous said...

$2 million. Sounds like Kerrick is going to have a lot of money to go after once he is found, Not Guilty. Maybe he can sue Ferrell's mother for "bad parenting".

Anonymous said...

$2 million. Sounds like Kerrick is going to have a lot of money to go after once he is found, Not Guilty. Maybe he can sue Ferrell's mother for "bad parenting".