Danquirs Franklin appeared to be lowering a gun toward the ground at the time a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer fatally shot him, a video released Monday shows.
What We Know:
- On March 25 Officer Wende Kerl was called to the parking lot of a west Charlotte Burger King. Kerl was responding to frantic 911 calls about a man with a gun threatening people at the restaurant.
- Kerl’s body camera shows that she and another officer instructed Franklin to put the gun down more than 15 times in the roughly 40 seconds before he was shot. In that span, the gun is not visible in the video.
- Franklin reached his right hand toward a pocket and pulled out a gun by the barrel. He appeared to be lowering the weapon when Kerl fired two shots, the video shows.
- Moments after being shot, Franklin turns his face toward the officers and can be heard saying: “You told me to…”The video cuts off seconds later, after he slumps over.
- In response to a court petition from local media, Mecklenburg Superior Judge Donnie Hoover on Thursday ordered CMPD to release the video on Monday over objections of Kerl’s attorney and the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office.
Danquirs Franklin marks 3rd controversial Charlotte police shooting in 6 years.
This story is developing and will be updated here.
