FOP, Kerrick’s Attorney Reacts to AG Decision Not to Retry Officer
CHARLOTTE, NC — Officer Wes Kerrick’s attorney says Kerrick should decide in the coming weeks if he will try to get his job back at CMPD or take any civil action.
WCCB Charlotte spoke to the officer’s legal team and the FOP after the Attorney General announced Friday it will not retry Kerrick in the voluntary manslaughter case.
After nearly two years of uncertainty, Officer Kerrick spoke to North Carolina Fraternal Order of Police after when he learned his criminal charges were cleared.
“I can tell you he’s extremely relieved,” said FOP State President Randy Hagler. “You just wouldn’t know how relieved he truly is.”
The FOP will pay Kerrick’s legal bills. The price is still unknown. His attorney George Laughrun praised the AG for making the quick decision not to retry.
“The facts are not going to change,” said Laughrun. “It seems like that the majority of the jurors did not believe a criminal conviction would have been appropriate or had a different result, and we admire him for going ahead and making that decision now.”
It’s the decision to arrest Officer Kerrick less than 24 hours after shooting an unarmed Jonathan Ferrell 10 times that concerns the FOP.
“I was shocked,” said Hagler. “This has changed the way other departments may react when officers are involved in shootings, and I think that’s just a travesty of justice.”
Charlotte’s local FOP President Todd Walther says he senses a loss of trust among the force since the trial revealed the evidence of the shooting.
“When they’re doing the right job, they need to know the department is going to support them,” said Walther.
The FOP says CMPD needs to acknowledge it should have taken more time to arrest their officer in order for police and the community to heal.
“There’s got to be some acknowledgment somewhere that it could have been handled differently,” said Hagler. “That has to come at some point. Whether it will or not, it’s too early to tell. I don’t personally believe it will.”
The AG said Friday lawmakers need to fund more consistent lethal force training.
“We would support any kind of training that would better an officer to protect himself, to protect this community,” said Walther.
