In governor’s race, Spaulding highlights Cooper decision

RALEIGH, NC (AP) – A Democratic candidate for North Carolina governor wants to draw more attention to Attorney General Roy Cooper’s decision not to retry a white police officer in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man.

Ken Spaulding of Durham released an online video Thursday critical of Cooper, who is also seeking the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in March.

Cooper’s office declined in August to retry Charlotte-Mecklenburg Officer Randall Kerrick after a hung jury. Eight of the 12 jurors had backed Kerrick’s acquittal. Cooper says prosecutors agreed a retrial would not lead to a different result.

Spaulding has said it was wrong for Cooper to interfere with the proper administration of justice in the case.

The video features footage from Cooper’s gubernatorial announcement and news reports about the 2013 shooting of Jonathan Ferrell.

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