Mistrial declared in police manslaughter trial

CHARLOTTE, NC (AP) — A North Carolina jury has deadlocked, resulting in a mistrial in the case of a white police officer charged with voluntary manslaughter in the death of an unarmed black man.

Judge Robert C. Ervin declared a mistrial Friday afternoon after four days of deliberations.

Ervin brought the racially diverse jury back into the Mecklenburg County courtroom around 4:10 p.m. and the foreman said he saw no possibility of reaching a verdict.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer Randall Kerrick had faced up to 11 years in prison.

The jury had deliberated for several days.

Prosecutors said the 29-year-old Kerrick used deadly force when he shot and killed Jonathan Ferrell in September 2013. They say nonlethal force should have been used to subdue the former Florida A&M football player. Two officers with Kerrick didn’t fire their guns.

But Kerrick’s attorneys said the officer feared for his life when he shot and killed Ferrell while responding to a breaking-and-entering call.