Officer Wes Kerrick: I Thought I Was Going to Die
CHARLOTTE, NC — Officer Wes Kerrick took the stand in his own defense Thursday, describing why he shot an unarmed Jonathan Ferrell ten times.
He was crying throughout his testimony. For nearly two years, he’s listened to others talk about what they think he should have done.
When he got the chance to tell his side, he told jurors, “I thought I was going to die.”
His defense attorney, Michael Greene, asked me to show jurors how he warned Ferrell before the shooting.
Officer Kerrick yelled in the courtroom, “Get on the ground! Get on the ground!”
He said he back peddled, but Ferrell kept running toward him.
“He was going to attack me,” said Kerrick.
Greene asked, “And, by attack you, what do you mean?”
Officer Kerrick answered, “That he was going to assault me, he was going to take my gun from me.”
He told jurors he would do it again under the same circumstances.
“Here was a suspect, he matched the description of a suspect late at night, early morning hours, he just ran through a taser. At the time, I thought it had worked, and I had absolutely no idea if he had a weapon on him,” said Kerrick.
Officer Kerrick was one of the first on scene after dispatchers sent him to a home where a mother with a young child called 911 when Ferrell showed up banging on her door before 3:00 am in Sept. 2013.
Prosecutors argue Ferrell just wrecked his car and needed help.
“Did he ever say the word help?” Greene questioned.
Officer Kerrick said no.
He pointed out mud on his uniform as evidence that Ferrell ended up on top of Officer Kerrick, and Kerrick was scooting away.
“No matter what I did, he wouldn’t stop. I wasn’t sure how many rounds I fired. None of them affected him in any way. I didn’t think my gun was working, and finally the last round, I was able to get out from under him and get up to my knee,” said Officer Kerrick. “He was still trying to advance towards me, and I had my gun on him and ordered him not to move.”
For nearly two years, critics have questioned why Officer Kerrick turned off his dash camera video when he arrived to the 911 caller’s home.
“Typically, I would use it if I was doing a DWI,” said Officer Kerrick. “If I had to do a B&E, breaking and entering, report call it would have been a bunch of stuff recorded that’s nothing.” People have also questioned why he turned his sirens off a quarter of a mile from the home.
“I didn’t want to alert suspect that I was close to the scene,” said Officer Kerrick.
The question that continues coming up in trial is why did he pull his gun and not his taser like a fellow officer on the scene.
“Based off my training and experiences, Officer Little had it out and on. The fact that the suspect matched the same description as the B&E suspect, I withdrew my firearm in case taser was unsuccessful,” said Officer Kerrick.
His attorney asked, “Is that how you were trained?”
“Yes, sir. It is,” said Officer Kerrick.
Ferrell’s brother watched from the courtroom. He wasn’t satisfied.
“Tears don’t justify shooting someone ten times,” said Willie Ferrell.
Officer Kerrick will be back on the stand Friday. His defense attorneys will continue questioning him. He will face the prosecution, who is prepared to point out any inconsistencies.
