Different views of police clash at chief’s church event after deadly CMPD shooting
Clashing views of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police were on full display Thursday night at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, where Chief Kerr Putney was scheduled to address concerns about a recent police shooting.
Danquirs Franklin, 27, was shot and killed by Officer Wende Kerl around 9 a.m. Monday at a Beatties Ford Road Burger King, according to police.
Within hours of Franklin’s death, a small group of activists assembled across the street and questioned CMPD’s explanation of the shooting. Police say Franklin had a gun when he was shot.
Two 911 calls in the minutes before the shooting made it clear that people at Burger King were concerned about an armed man, but some protesters and at least one woman who says she witnessed the shooting say that person was not Franklin.
That was the backdrop to Putney’s appearance at the church Thursday, just a few blocks from where Franklin was killed.
Putney started off the meeting by acknowledging the mistrust black and Hispanic communities have toward police.
“The truth of the matter is, we’ve earned a lot of that. Our history bears it out,” he said.
Before explaining why it’s logistically and legally complicated to investigate police shootings, Putney referred briefly to the activists protesting down the street at Burger King.
“There’s people outside mad at me, and bless ‘em, they have a right to be,” he said.
About halfway through the 90-minute event, during an extended question-and-answer session, some of the activists walked into the church and sat down.
The juxtaposition was clear between questioners who had concerns about the police but seemed happy to follow the church pastors’ instructions to be respectful and activists who objected to Putney’s presence.
While Putney talked about how he still feels haunted by the CMPD killing of Jonathan Ferrell, which led to a voluntary manslaughter trial for the officer involved, one Charlotte Uprising activist yelled “we don’t care.”
“Am I talking to you? If you don’t care, leave!” Putney said.
Another Charlotte Uprising activist told the crowd that the group wasn’t there because they cared. They were there because they’re angry, she said.
She linked together recent high-profile killings with the five 2018 deaths at the Mecklenburg County Jail, saying she and her co-activists are worried about protecting people from police, not hearing about how police protect them.
“People are scared of you! Nobody wants to build community with y’all!” she said. A portion of the room clearly approved.
Putney’s response was shouted down, and Pastor Clifford Jones of Friendship Missionary cut in. “There’s such a thing as mutual respect ... Chief can’t say that, but I can say that,” Jones said.
Jones told the activists that if they wanted “to be loud, to be seen” and not be respectful, they should leave. Some people clapped.
After one last speech to the crowd from activist Andrew Woods, who asked about a shell casing found at Burger King after detectives left the scene Monday, the group walked out.
As they left, Putney said detectives retrieved all the shell casings relevant to the case.
The church quieted down after that, though a few more speakers made requests. One asked police to listen to community concerns, while another called for young people to avoid guns.
In one of the last comments of the night, local activist Gemini Boyd urged church members — including some of the older people in the room — to take to the streets and work with the community.
“My community is hurting, and I need help from my elders that are sitting here thinking all of us youngsters are disrespectful,” he said.
This story was originally published March 29, 2019 at 12:49 PM.
.jpg)