# Holy shit a cop got charged for shooting someone! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 16, 2013, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951 "2013-09-16T04:52:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/1 "2013-09-16T04:52:59Z")
[It happened in North Carolina. > [@](#): > > Early Saturday, he had apparently been in a wreck and was seeking help at a nearby house, according to a statement from Charlotte-Mecklenburg police. A woman answered the door and, when she didn’t recognize the man, called 911. > > Officers responding to the breaking and entering call found Ferrell a short distance from the home, police said. As they approached him, Ferrell ran toward the officers, who tried to stop him with a Taser. Police said he continued to run toward them when officer Randall Kerrick fired his gun, hitting Ferrell several times. Ferrell died at the scene. ]([http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US\_CHARLOTTE\_POLICE\_SHOOTING\_DEATH?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-09-15-20-52-55](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CHARLOTTE_POLICE_SHOOTING_DEATH?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-09-15-20-52-55)) At first the cops said everything was totally legit, but they soon changed their tune. [ > [@](#): > > Police called Ferrell and Kerrick’s initial encounter “appropriate and lawful.” But in their statement late Saturday, they said “the investigation showed that the subsequent shooting of Mr. Ferrell was excessive” and “Kerrick did not have a lawful right to discharge his weapon during this encounter.” ]([http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US\_CHARLOTTE\_POLICE\_SHOOTING\_DEATH?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-09-15-20-52-55](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CHARLOTTE_POLICE_SHOOTING_DEATH?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-09-15-20-52-55)) Now we just have to wait for the trial outcome. Frankly, I’ll be surprised if the officer is convicted of anything. ---
**Author:** ![panaccione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/2 "2013-09-16T04:59:54Z")
Yeah, he probably won’t. Seems meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![smee\_goan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@smee\_goan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smee_goan)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/3 "2013-09-16T05:03:53Z")
Ferrel was like Sylvester Stalone, he escaped the wrecked car through a broken rear window. Like to have some of what he was smoking… ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/4 "2013-09-16T05:04:00Z")
A guy running directly toward a police officer seems like pretty good reason to shoot him honestly. I’m all against police officers killing unarmed people but when/if they are sprinting toward them I’m not all that sympathetic to the victim. Manslaughter at best. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/5 "2013-09-16T05:07:30Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > A guy running directly toward a police officer seems like pretty good reason to shoot him honestly. I’m all against police officers killing unarmed people but when/if they are sprinting toward them I’m not all that sympathetic to the victim. Manslaughter at best. Is that a special rule for cops or can anyone assume that someone running in their direction is a threat to their life and shoot them? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/6 "2013-09-16T05:19:15Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > Is that a special rule for cops or can anyone assume that someone running in their direction is a threat to their life and shoot them? Only if the guy they shoot is black, like this guy. If you’re a black male you can pretty much be killed out of hand in this country. I expect that the woman he first tried talking to wouldn’t have called 9-11 over a man knocking on her door if he wasn’t black, either. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/7 "2013-09-16T05:41:56Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > Is that a special rule for cops or can anyone assume that anyone running in their direction is a threat to their life and shoot them? No–not “anyone”…just a cop. from the link:“Officers responding to the breaking and entering call found Ferrell a short distance from the home. As they approached him, Ferrell ran toward the officers, who tried to stop him with a Taser. Police said he continued to run toward them” When at 2:30 in middle of the night, a uniformed policeman shouts at you to stop, then pulls out a taser, and you keep running towards him, then, yes, it seems reasonable to assume that you are threatening him. At that point, you are technically violating the law anyway, by refusing to cooperate with a police officer.\* (I’m assuming that the cop shouted at him to stop.) The issue here seems to be at what range this all happened, and whether the cop had time and space to avoid the shooting. The linked article doesnt provide enough details to know. \*Gee, I was once pulled over in my car for a minor traffic violation. The cop car flashed his siren, I pulled off on the shoulder, with the cop car behind me. Then me, being a nice, friendly guy, (and a naive, stupid one, too )—started to open my car door, so I could walk back to the policeman. Of course, he shouted at me to stay in my car. So I did what I was told. No tasers or guns were needed to convince me. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/8 "2013-09-16T05:55:54Z")
Why do you believe any of that? I don’t see why we should talk the I corroborated word of the guy who shot an unarmed person without substantial evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/9 "2013-09-16T05:59:45Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > from the link:“Officers responding to the breaking and entering call found Ferrell a short distance from the home. As they approached him, Ferrell ran toward the officers, who tried to stop him with a Taser. Police said he continued to run toward them” The word of the police is worthless, and I see no reason to buy that for a moment. Under the circumstances it seems far more likely that they decided to kill him simply because he he was a black man and therefore automatically deserving of death. The standard attitude of the police, in other words. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/10 "2013-09-16T06:00:18Z")
If a guy was running toward me after I yelled at him to stop and he continued to do so, and there was no way for me to get to safety (lock myself in my car or my house for example), and I was armed, I would not hesitate to shoot him as he charged me. I would hope I would be found innocent of breaking any laws, but if not, I’d also understand why not. I admit it is a bit of a grey area. But people have the right to defend themselves, and someone running directly toward you after you have yelled at them to stop seems like a pretty good way to say you feared for you life and killed in self defense. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/11 "2013-09-16T06:01:36Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > If a guy was running toward me after I yelled at him to stop and he continued to do so, and there was no way for me to get to safety (lock myself in my car or my house for example), and I was armed, I would not hesitate to shoot him as he charged me. I would hope I would be found innocent of breaking any laws, but if not, I’d also understand why not. I admit it is a bit of a grey area. But people have the right to defend themselves, and someone running directly toward you after you have yelled at them to stop seems like a pretty good way to say you feared for you life and killed in self defense. Well, let’s hope no one desperate and need of help ever comes across you while you’re armed, then. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/12 "2013-09-16T06:12:42Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > The word of the police is worthless, and I see no reason to buy that for a moment. Under the circumstances it seems far more likely that they decided to kill him simply because he he was a black man and therefore automatically deserving of death. The standard attitude of the police, in other words. So, you’re saying that they did it on a regular basis, or that there were no black men available for them to shoot until that day? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/13 "2013-09-16T06:24:22Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > So, you’re saying that they did it on a regular basis, or that there were no black men available for them to shoot until that day? Of course they harass, assault and kill black men on a regular basis, as do cops in general; that’s what cops do. As the title of this thread points out, the only surprising thing is a cop being _charged_ for shooting someone. Them _shooting_ some black guy isn’t surprising in the slightest. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/14 "2013-09-16T06:31:32Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Of course they harass, assault and kill black men on a regular basis, as do cops in general; that’s what cops do. As the title of this thread points out, the only surprising thing is a cop being _charged_ for shooting someone. Them _shooting_ some black guy isn’t surprising in the slightest. Well, they _do_ have a quota! ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/15 "2013-09-16T06:54:48Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Well, they _do_ have a quota! Cops often do have a [quota for arrests](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323415304578370934217921310.html); blacks are a favored target to fill that quota of course. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/16 "2013-09-16T10:25:49Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > Why do you believe any of that? I don’t see why we should talk the I corroborated word of the guy who shot an unarmed person without substantial evidence. Thank. You. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/17 "2013-09-16T10:48:44Z")
The guy was knocking on the woman’s door and she thought he was a burgular? How hard would it have been for her to poke her head out of an open window and ask what’s wrong? If someone knocks at my door in the middle of the night, hell yeah I’m gonna be scared. But the first thing that will come to mind is that something or someone is on fire. ---
**Author:** ![Uber\_the\_Goober](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/58956e/32.png) [@Uber\_the\_Goober](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uber_the_Goober)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/18 "2013-09-16T10:57:32Z")
Not until now have I seen the impressive emotional bias, irrational thinking, and general ass-hattery that\*\* Der Trihs\*\* has so often been accused of. Good show man. For the record, I’d have to say that anyone who continued to run towards a cop after being tazed, should be considered dangerous and likely on drugs. Seriously who the hell runs straight through a taze? I bet we hear something in the coming weeks about the guy being on drugs or something. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/19 "2013-09-16T11:05:37Z")
> [@Uber\_the\_Goober](#): > > For the record, I’d have to say that anyone who continued to run towards a cop after being tazed, should be considered dangerous and likely on drugs. You assume of course that he actually did such a thing. I see no reason to assume that it was anything more than a standard “He’s black! Shoot 'em!” reaction. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2013, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951/20 "2013-09-16T11:09:19Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > When at 2:30 in middle of the night, a uniformed policeman shouts at you to stop, then pulls out a taser, and you keep running towards him, then, yes, it seems reasonable to assume that you are threatening him. At that point, you are technically violating the law anyway, by refusing to cooperate with a police officer.\* (I’m assuming that the cop shouted at him to stop.) You can assume the cop shouted at him to stop, or you can assume a guy who wanted help wouldn’t be “sprinting” (as **drewtwo99** has decided he was doing) towards police officers who are pointing weapons at him. Either someone is a complete idiot here, or some detail is missing, because there’s currently no way to piece all this together that leaves all parties behaving rationally. > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Under the circumstances it seems far more likely that they decided to kill him simply because he he was a black man and therefore automatically deserving of death. The standard attitude of the police, in other words. Do you _really_ believe this rubbish? I’m with you on a fair amount of stuff you write, but this is ridiculous hyperbole. I’m willing to believe many people are slightly racist. I’m willing to believe this may influence their decisions on who is a threat and who isn’t. But the idea of police ever shooting a black man “simply because he was a black man” and that they consider him “deserving of death” is ridiculous enough, even without the fact that you consider this scenario “far more likely” than one in which the police aren’t lying. Stuff like this undermines the credibility of anything intelligent you _do_ post. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-a-cop-got-charged-for-shooting-someone/668951.md?page=2)