CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte's Citizen Review Board voted unanimously late Thursday night that CMPD's should not have deemed the deadly shooting of Danquirs Franklin 'justified.'
According to Julian Wright, counsel to the Charlotte citizen Review Board (CRB), the board voted 7-0 and announced after a closed hearing that, "A preponderance of the evidence in the case demonstrated that CMPD clearly erred in finding the fatal shooting of Danquirs Franklin justified during their review."
Franklin was shot by a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officer outside the Burger King on Beatties Ford Road on March 25. The officer, identified as Wende Kerl, ordered Franklin to drop his weapon multiple times before opening fire when she perceived a threat.
More than seven months after the shooting, CMPD announced in November Kerl returned to work in a full-time, non-patrol, investigative role at headquarters.
After the shooting, CMPD placed her on administrative leave as per standard protocol pending a criminal and internal investigation.
The criminal investigation cleared Kerl of all wrongdoing. The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 9 issued the following statement Friday in response to the CRB's vote:
"The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 9 is disappointed with the Citizens Review Board ruling in regards to the March 25, 2019 officer-involved shooting. Please find our attached statement in support of our Officer."
On Thursday, nearly a full year after the shooting, the Board's ruling is sure to reopen old wounds.
From Franklin's family to the NAACP, people have criticized the way CMPD responded in the moments before, during and after the shooting, questioning the way the officer engaged the armed suspect, the words she used, how she crossed another officer's path and increased her risk of danger, and her decision to fire her gun as Franklin appeared to drop his. Some even called for her termination.
According to Wright, the Board will send a letter in coming days both to CMPD as well as the family of Danquirs Franklin, to explain the basis for their vote.
The Board will also send a list of recommendations to Chief Kerr Putney, most significantly how CMPD should alter their ruling that the March fatal shooting was justified. Other recommendations will include how CMPD could change its policies to better handle cases like the Franklin shooting in the future.
The Citizen's Review Board typically consists of 11 volunteer members, but there are currently 3 vacant seats and 1 member was unable to attend Thursday night's session.