CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- On Wednesday, jurors got to see and hear the dramatic dash cam video from the night the CMPD officer Randall Wes Kerrick shot and killed Jonathan Ferrell.
Certainly the videotape made an impact; there were some in the courtroom who cried and most of those in the courtroom who saw it for the first time were kind of stunned, even having an idea of what the video would show.
Our legal analyst, Rick Winiker watched the video; he's a former Assistant U.S. Attorney, and he believes the video can help both sides.
"It will be interesting to hear what the other officers have to say about what happened, because what the defense is saying is that he rushed at Kerrick. What I've seen in that video is a man who walked up to police officers, innocently at first, and then just seemed to rush in the direction of where I'm guessing the police officers were. And my initial impression is that it's consistent with the defense's argument," Winiker said.
The defense has said there was a struggle. As evident in the video, if there was a fight, it certainly didn't last very long.
Officer Adam Neal, whose car captured that dash cam video, is testified in court on Wednesday.
During cross-examination, Officer Neal described what you can't see on the dash cam video, saying that after the initial volley of shots, that Jonathan Ferrell's upper body falls on Officer Kerrick's legs, they fall into a ditch and continue to be engaged.
Neal continued that when you hear additional shots fired, that's when Neal says Ferrell was trying to crawl up on Ferrell's body in a swimming-like movement.
Neal says he didn't hear any of the commands such as "get on the ground", perhaps indicating what a chaotic scene it was.
"I see red dots on him, he's moving. From this distance, I couldn't tell if it was moving left, right or back and forth," Neal testified.
But Officer Adam Neal says Jonathon Ferrell appears to be walking until the moment those red dots, indicating the taser, appear on his body.
"At this point he started charging," Neal continued.
It all unfolds in a matter of seconds, but Neal says he wasn't anticipating gunshots when he got out of his car.
"At that time I saw the red dots, I knew I had five seconds to put handcuffs on Jonathan."
Officer Neal's baton, gun and taser all remained holstered during the incident. He said that more than anything, he thought he was just preparing for a fight.
Watch the entire, RAW clip below:
