The Charlotte police officer who shot and killed former Florida A&M football player Jonathan Ferrell will not be be criminally charged after a grand jury elected not to indict him.
A defenseless and unarmed Ferrell suffered ten gunshot wounds at the hands of officer Randall Kerrick as he simply sought help and medical attention after crashing his car last September. Police instantly arrested Kerrick on manslaughter charges, but GlobalGrind.com reports jury members claimed they did not have enough evidence to indict the 28-year-old officer.
"We the Grand Jury respectfully request that the district attorney submit a bill of indictment to a lesser-included or related offense," the jury's foreperson said in a handwritten note released by the clerk of court's office.
Prosecutors, however, took exception with the ruling, arguing that the entire grand jury was not present for that vote and hinting that they may again seek to trial Kerrick on manslaughter charges.
Ferrell, 24, played two season as a safety at Florida A&M and was working two jobs and reportedly engaged to be married at the time of his killing.
"To lose him that way is incredibly difficult to deal with for anyone," his high school coach Ira Reynolds previously told reporters. "He practiced hard and played hard. He didn't talk very much, but when he said something, it spoke volumes."
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