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Demonstrators have hit the streets of Charlotte, N.C. for nearly a week following the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott.  As Matt Galka tells us, the protests have reopened a wound for a family in Tallahassee.

In September of 2013, unarmed Jonathan Ferrell was shot and killed by a police officer outside of Charlotte, N.C.

The former Florida A&M football player had crashed his car after 2 a.m. and knocked on the door of a nearby house. The homeowner called police, and officer Randall Kerrick shot and killed Ferrell after he started running in his direction.

The shooting of Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte has reopened the wound for Ferrell’s family.

“It just replays everything, you know? It took you right back to the time when you first heard about the situation, when my mother first told me about the situation. And it’s very hurtful just to see other families have to go through the same things,” said Willie Ferrell, Jonathan’s brother.
Kerrick was charged with voluntary manslaughter but got off after a judge declared a mistrial. The mistrial was declared last year and sparked several days of protests at the time.

“It’s like you get prone to it, but the hurt never goes away because you relive it over and over again and we’re not seeing any justice,” said Ferrell’s mother Georgia.

The city of Charlotte reached a more than $2 million dollar settlement with the Ferrell family in a civil suit following Jonathan’s death. But his brother says the money doesn’t bring Jonathan back, and doesn’t make it any easier to be black in America.

“You’ll be afraid no matter how much money you make, no matter what kind of car you drive, no matter what you do. You’ll still be stereotyped, you’ll still be racially profiled,” said Willie Ferrell.

The city of Charlotte had instituted a midnight curfew because of violence during protests last week, but they lifted the curfew after demonstrations were mostly peaceful over the weekend.