On
September 14, 2013 the North Carolina police stated that a tragic event was
merely “unfortunate.” Jonathan Ferrell crashed his car on Saturday morning in
Charlotte, NC. He repeatedly knocked on a nearby homeowner’s door to get help,
but the woman called 911 because she thought he was trying to “break” into her
house. When the police came, Ferrell ran
toward them to receive assistance for his wrecked car. After matching the
description with the running man, an officer shot at him. Missing once, Officer
Randall Kerrick shot again multiple times and killed Ferrell instantly. CNN’s
Jessica King and AnneClaire Stapleton reported that he was unarmed (Charlotte
Police Kill Unarmed Man).
The term
“unfortunate” is a definite understatement of the situation. A 24 year old man
lost his life, for what? No good reason. He was unarmed, seeking help. Officer
Kerrick could have shot Ferrell once in an area that would have wounded him.
Instead, he shot Ferrell several times and killed him in a flash. In the past,
people had a stronger sense of security. They didn’t fear new faces in their
neighborhoods, especially to the point of calling the police. As time goes on,
Americans have been molded by the horrific events that the U.S. has faced: Columbine
High School Shooting, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting,
etc… Trust that Americans had in each other has deteriorated. Reactions to
fear, such as this incident, create more reasons to doubt the security of
homes, schools, neighborhoods, and people. People now guard themselves against the
bad in others instead of looking for their goodness.
How do we
get back to that place where people were open to new faces, hostility was
limited, and trust was freely given? Can we even get back to that place? Will
our loss of trust in others destroy American society? Do we need it?
Leave your comments and thoughts below!
I wonder if racism could have been a factor in this event, because Ferrel, the victim, was African American. To me, this tragedy connects to the shooting of Trayvon Martin. (Here is a link to a detailed description of the case and its outcome: http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/05/us/trayvon-martin-shooting-fast-facts/index.html).
ReplyDeleteThis event caused a huge uproar, for people claimed it was an act of prejudice, and that the victim was killed because he was African American, not because he posed a legitimate threat. Similarly in this situation, it is questionable if the cop reacted in violence because of Ferrell's race, which might have caused him to feel more threatened by an African American man rather than a Caucasian man. Because this seems to be becoming a reoccurring problem, I wonder if anything will be done in response to these events before another crime occurs, and what kind of action will be taken.