CHARLOTTE — The family of a man who was shot and killed by a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officer has settled a wrongful death lawsuit with the City of Charlotte.
Franklins family said they are glad to be able to move forward from this. pic.twitter.com/cXud9t0533
— Genevieve Curtis (@GenevieveonTV) July 13, 2023
Officer Wende Kerl shot and killed Danquirs Franklin outside of a north Charlotte Burger King back in 2019.
In April, an appeals court cleared the way for the family to sue. The court also ruled the City of Charlotte cannot be held liable under the federal constitution for the shooting.
Body camera video shows the moments Kerl repeatedly told Franklin to put the gun down. But when Franklin reached into his pocket, Kerl fired.
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Franklin’s family has claimed he died while trying to comply. The Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office reviewed the shooting and decided that it was justified.
On Thursday, the family’s attorneys announced it has settled with the city for $1.5 million. Franklin’s family told Channel 9′s Genevieve Curtis they are glad to be able to move forward from this.
‘Our family is going to get some closure’
The settlement avoids a trial and, while the city is not admitting fault in this case, Franklin’s family said this is closure for them after four years of legal challenges. Of course, no amount of money can bring their son, brother, and father of three back.
“It’s the only way I can just keep him close to me,” said Audrey Brice, Franklin’s sister.
Brice was referring to her little brother’s class ring, which she’s worn for the last four years.
“I just thank God our family is going to get some closure and to clear his name,” she said. “He was such a wonderful person. I know that everyone says that about their children, but he really was.”
His family brought a book to court that he co-authored about the importance of monitorship for Black men. They also brought the parent magazines he had subscribed to as reminders of loving father he was.
“He made a bad decision in the midst of rage as a father to protect his children, and I spoke to him maybe 30 minutes before that happened and I gave him some good advice on how to handle it -- he was so enraged,” said Franklin’s cousin, James Barnett.
Franklin’s family said he was suffering a personal crisis when he took the gun to the Burger King where the mother of his children worked. In court, family attorney Luke Largess argued the situation had de-escalated substantially by the time officers arrived.
At issue in this case were the officers’ commands, even though no gun could be seen as he knelt down on the ground. Officers repeatedly told him to drop the gun, and when he reached in to get it, he was shot.
He can be heard on body camera video saying, “You told me to.”
“He had it in his fingers, holding the top of the gun with the barrel pointed away from everyone, that he was not an immediate threat,” Largess said.
Legal challenges and lasting impact
After CMPD cleared the officers involved and the district attorney agreed, in 2020, the Citizens Review Board unanimously found the shooting was not reasonable. The family filed a wrongful death lawsuit later that year.
Earlier this year, a federal appeals court ruled the lawsuit could go to trial. Largess said that set an important precedent that tactics, decisions and commands given by an officer make a difference in deciding the constitutionality of use of force.
His family said Franklin made a mistake, but what they saw in the video was a man trying to surrender and never getting the chance.
“His last words leave us with the knowledge of what was inside of him,” Barnett said. “He was willing to obey because when she shot, he looked at her and said, ‘you told me to.’”
At the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, the case has spurred change in some department policies.
That shooting was the last time CMPD investigated its own officer-involved shooting. Now, those are all investigated by the State Bureau of Investigation.
CMPD also adopted a duty to intervene policy and made changes to its use of force policy following the case.
Curtis reached out to the city and to the police department Thursday but did not receive a response.
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