Charlotte’s Trial: How Jonathan Ferrell’s Death Put A City’s Self-Image At Risk

When Jonathan Ferrell knocked on a stranger’s door after a car crash in Charlotte, N.C., he was probably disoriented and looking for help. The stranger’s frantic 911 call after she saw a black man at her door brought the police, including Randall Kerrick. What happened next is now being argued in a Charlotte courtroom. But as the white former police officer goes on trial for voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of the unarmed 24-year-old, a city’s image will be on trial as well.