CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Almost two weeks after Jonathan Ferrell's friends and family laid him to rest, Eyewitness News has learned more about the investigation into his death.
Charlotte police said it started early morning on Sept. 14. Ferrell's car crashed and his family said he went looking for help.
Friday, Eyewitness News received the initial crash report which said Ferrell was driving a car with Florida plates owned by David Heidel. The Ferrell family's attorney tells Eyewitness News that Heidel is Jonathan Ferrell's fiance's father.
The crash report also has a diagram of where Ferrell's car went off the road. The narrative said it struck several trees. The report goes on to say, "original and impact speeds have been omitted from this preliminary report pending the investigation."
Police said Ferrell ran toward officers when they arrived and that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Officer Randall Kerrick shot and killed him. Kerrick is charged with voluntary manslaughter.
Chris Chestnut, the attorney for the Ferrell family, said they will look into what happened that night.
In emails Eyewitness News requested from the CMPD police chief, there was one from Chestnut's firm requesting a number of things like audio and video recordings from that night including dash-cam video and 911 calls.
The attorney also asked for witness interviews and personnel information, including a copy of Kerrick's job application, any complaints or investigations of him and his personnel file. Eyewitness News reached out to Chestnut to see if he has received any of those records or if any of the requests have been denied because they aren't public record. He told Eyewitness News that his firm has not received any of what it has requested.
One of the attorney’s for Officer Kerrick said he had no comment but did point out that Chesnut is not part of the criminal investigation.
In the past, Kerrick's attorneys have told us they think their client will be cleared when this investigation is complete.
The other emails we received included press releases sent from CMPD, notes to the chief from community members and updates that he passed along to the city manager.
Eyewitness News has also learned the two other officers that responded the night of the shooting are back on regular duty. They had been suspended with pay, which is typical after incidents like this.
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