North Carolina officer charged with shooting black man testifies in trial

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/13/north-carolina-police-shooting-jonathan-ferrell-trial

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The white police officer charged in the shooting death of an unarmed black man testified in his own defense on Thursday, following witnesses who quoted him as saying he thought his life was in danger, that the man was going to grab his gun, and that the man started running toward him.

Officer Randall Kerrick’s voice cracked as he began testifying in his voluntary manslaughter trial.

Defense attorney Michael Greene asked about Kerrick’s family, and he identified his wife, who has been sitting behind him throughout the trial. He also mentioned his one child.

Kerrick’s voice continued to quaver as he described his educational background and recounted his police training. He then stepped from the witness stand and described for the jury the equipment he wears to do his job.

In response to specific questions from his attorney, he told the jury that he was never trained to use the butt of his gun as a weapon when encountering a subject or to shoot a gun out of a person’s hands. He also said he was never told to not fire warning shots.

The suspended officer also testified that he was trained to shoot at the biggest center of a target because it is difficult to hit a target.

After approximately 20 minutes of testimony, the court went into a 15-minute recess.

Police say that Jonathan Ferrell wrecked his car on the morning of 14 September 2013, and went to a nearby house and banged on the door, apparently for help. The resident called police, and three officers responded. Investigators say Kerrick fired 12 shots, 10 of which hit Ferrell. Kerrick was the only officer who fired his gun.

Some of the testimony prior to Kerrick’s appearance focused on training and whether his use of deadly force was necessary.

During other testimony earlier in the trial, fellow officers testified that Kerrick told them he was afraid for his life and that he thought Jonathan Ferrell was going to try to take his gun.

Related: Charlotte officer 'panicked' before killing unarmed man, court hears

On Thursday, Officer Thornell Little testified that when he first saw Ferrell, he was pacing and hitting his thighs with his hands. Little says Ferrell walked toward him and said, “Shoot me, shoot me!” after which the officer said he reached for his Taser, pointed it at Ferrell and fired. Little says it was after that that Ferrell ran toward Kerrick.

During cross-examination by prosecutor Adren Harris, Little was shown the dashcam video of the incident. In it, the red dots from Little’s Taser lights are visible, but there’s nothing on the audio portion to suggest that Ferrell asked the officer to shoot him.

Little says he gave Ferrell the command to stop, but that wasn’t heard on the dashcam video, either.

Technical difficulties at the defense table brought testimony to a halt for a time during the late morning.