The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has denied Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer Wende Kerl’s immunity in the 2019 fatal shooting of 27-year-old Danquirs Franklin. Earlier this week, the panel of judges ruled that the officers intensified a situation that had subsided and that a “reasonable jury” would have concluded that Franklin did not pose a threat to anyone when he was shot.
Franklin had entered a Burger King where his former girlfriend worked, brandishing a gun. When police officers arrived, Franklin was sitting in the parking lot beside the restaurant manager's car, praying with him. At first, no gun was visible, but as officers shouted commands at him to drop his weapon, he removed a gun from his jacket, pointed away from the officers. Kerl shot him.
The Appeals Court’s ruling overturns an earlier District Court decision to grant Kerl qualified immunity against a civil case filed by Franklin's mother. Henry Chambers, professor of law at the University of Richmond explains qualified immunity and the ramifications of the appellate decision.
Chambers spoke with WFAE's All Things Considered host Gwendolyn Glenn to explain the ruling, and its potential significance.
