On Tuesday, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court decision in Charlotte that last year granted immunity to Wende Kerl. She was the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer who fatally shot Danquirs Franklin outside a Burger King in west Charlotte in 2019.
The original complaint was filed by Franklin’s mother. It was dismissed in 2022 when a judge found Kerl probably made errors on the day of the shooting. But under the law, the judge said, any errors were reasonable ones, making Kerl immune to the claims in the lawsuit.
Officer body-worn camera footage and a report from District Attorney Spencer Merriweather found Franklin appeared to be complying with orders to lay down his weapon when Kerl shot him.
However, Merriweather ruled the Franklin shooting was legally justified, saying his office could not prove that Kerl and the Burger King manager didn't have a reasonable fear for their safety given Franklin’s erratic behavior and that he was armed.
