The Associated Press is reporting that a North Carolina police officer has been charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of former Florida A&M University football player Jonathan A. Ferrell, 24, who was seeking help after a car accident in Charlotte.
The deadly encounter was set in motion when a former college football player survived a wreck and went searching for help in the middle of the night. A frightened woman heard him pounding and opened her front door, then called police. Officers found the unarmed man, and one shot him when a Taser failed to stop him from approaching.
Within hours, investigators determined that the shooting had been excessive and charged the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer with voluntary manslaughter in the death of former Florida A&M University football player Jonathan A. Ferrell.
Ferrell, 24, played for Florida A&M in 2009 and 2010, school officials said Sunday. He had recently moved to 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.
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Read more at the Washington Post.
