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CMPD releases more video from deadly officer-involved shooting outside Burger King

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has released more video from a deadly officer-involved shooting that happened last year.

Danquirs Franklin, 27, was fatally shot and killed by CMPD Officer Wende Kerl in the parking lot of a north Charlotte Burger King on Beatties Ford Road in March 2019.

On Tuesday, police released body camera video, footage from inside the restaurant and the City of Charlotte Department of Transportation street camera footage of the shooting.

>> In the interest of transparency, we are linking to all of the videos here but viewer discretion is advised.

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The videos released Tuesday gives a glimpse into what happened inside the restaurant before officers showed up.

Some of the surveillance video shows Franklin inside the Burger King waving a gun and in the kitchen, on top of the counter.

>> In the video at the top of the page, Channel 9′s DaShawn Brown reviews hundreds of videos released by police and walks you through them.

Police said they were called to the scene for an altercation between Franklin and a restaurant employee. They said people called 911 reporting that Franklin had walked into the restaurant with a gun and pointed it at an employee.

Once officers arrived, they found Franklin outside kneeling near a car with the store manager in it, who family members said he knew well.

Police said officers repeatedly yelled commands at him to drop the gun. A short time later, police said Kerl perceived Franklin’s actions as a deadly threat and shot him twice, killing him.

Following months of investigation, District Attorney Spencer Merriweather announced that he would not pursue charges against Kerl.

Nearly a year later, Franklin’s family filed a lawsuit in June 2020 against the city of Charlotte and Kerl for wrongful death and negligent training. The family is also suing the officer for assault and battery.

The lawsuit said Franklin was attempting to comply and pull the gun out of his pocket, when Kerl shot him.

At the time, Kerl said when Franklin reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun, she feared for her life, her partner’s life and the passenger’s life in the car next to Franklin.

But family members said Kerl’s decision was unreasonable and excessive. They said she failed “to follow settled principles for remaining safe in such a situation” and then killed Franklin “because he was obeying her repeated commands to put down his pistol.”

The lawsuit claimed Kerl escalated a situation that had already calmed down.

After the DA decided to not press charges against Kerl, the State Bureau of Investigation reviewed the shooting and decided that it was justified.

Family members then appealed the decision to the City’s Citizen Review Board, a body organized to review use of force by CMPD officers. The CRB ruled against CMPD and said that the shooting was not justified.

Before that decision was made, Charlotte’s Fraternal Order of Police said the review was unfair to Kerl because the board didn’t let her attorneys attend.

The board has reviewed 94 cases -- this was the second time it’s ruled against CMPD.