Dashboard footage and a second officer's testimony have given new insight in the trial of a Charlotte police officer accused of shooting and killing an unarmed black man, who was looking for help after a car crash.
On Thursday, a second officer testified he didn't draw his own weapon and didn't even think about pulling it. His testimony came a day after jury members were shown a dashboard video of the incident.
We can see Jonathan Ferrell only for seconds then he's out of the picture and we hear shots #KerrickTrial pic.twitter.com/bqND9mS5vQ— Mark Becker (@MarkBeckerWSOC9) August 5, 2015
Officer Adam Neal testified that he pulled up to the scene as officer Randall Kerrick was confronting Jonathan Ferrell early on the morning of Sept. 14, 2013.
According to reports, Ferrell had crashed his car, kicked out the back windshield of his car, and gone to a nearby house, knocking on the door to ask for help. The resident at the home thought Ferrell was attempting to break in and called the police.
Investigators say officer Randall Kerrick, who is white, was the only one of three officers who responded to use his gun. Investigators say Kerrick fired 12 shots, 10 of which hit the unarmed Ferrell.
Neal testified that he heard officer Kerrick tell Ferrell to get down, but that Ferrell was coming at the officer "hard and fast." He said he saw a Taser fired at Ferrell, but said that either the Taser missed or Ferrell fought through it. He recalled wondering if Ferrell was "on bath salts or mushrooms."
Neal told prosecutors that he would have opted to put Ferrell in a sleeper hold instead of shooting him.
One day earlier, jurors viewed footage from Neal's dashboard camera.
#KerrickTrial Jury just saw dash cam video. pic.twitter.com/yd5ZGq9oy4— Steve Crump WBTV (@SteveCrumpWBTV) August 5, 2015
In the September 2013 video, Kerrick can't be seen firing his gun 12 times. However, the sound of each shot was recorded through the microphone on Neal's uniform, along with the voice of someone yelling "Get on the ground!" three times.
Neal says Ferrell fell on Kerrick's legs after the officer's first four shots. Neal says Kerrick fired eight more times as Ferrell made a crawling motion.
Prosecutors say Kerrick is guilty of voluntary manslaughter because he overreacted when he killed Ferrell. Authorities said the officers did not identify themselves, and Neal's video appears to confirm that.
Defense lawyers say the shooting was justified because Ferrell charged officers before they could figure out what was going on and he tried to grab Kerrick's gun when he fell on the officer.
Also on Thursday, a forensic pathologist testified in graphic detail about the 10 bullet wounds that Ferrell sustained.
ME's drawing of the possible positions of #KerrickTrial & #JonathanFerrell when shots were fired. pic.twitter.com/vR8iDFxvNb— Dianne Gallagher (@DianneG) August 6, 2015
ME says Jonathan Ferrell likely would have lived between a few seconds and 30 seconds. #kerricktrial— Blake Hanson (@BlakeWSOC9) August 6, 2015
Ferrell's family had seen the footage previously as part of a wrongful death lawsuit they settled with the city of Charlotte for $2.25 million. They showed no reaction to it Wednesday.
Dashboard footage from Kerrick's car and the car of a third officer is also expected to be introduced as evidence.
Kerrick faces up to 11 years in prison if convicted of voluntary manslaughter. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department hired him in 2011 after he had worked as an animal control officer.
Additional reporting by Mashable