This is inexcusable!
Let's stop making excuses!
Published on Jul 20, 2016
Cell phone video footage has been released that shows the moments before an unarmed black therapist with his hands up was shot by North Miami police while attempting to care for his autistic patient, according to WSVN-TV.
Disabled caregiver Charles Kinsey was lying on his back with his hands in the air, attempting to talk to the officers who were aiming their weapons at them. The police had received reports of a man with a gun threatening suicide.
“When I went to the ground, I went to the ground with my hands up,” Kinsey said, “and I am laying there just like this. Telling them again there is no need for firearms. He is autistic. He has a toy truck in his hand.”
Kinsey can be heard clearly saying to police on the video “All he has is a toy truck. A toy truck. I am a behavior therapist at a group home.”
Kinsey was shot while in this submissive position. Kinsey said he still has no idea why the officers shot him.
“I thought it was a mosquito bite, and when it hit me I had my hands in the air, and I’m thinking I just got shot!” Kinsey said. “And I’m saying, ‘Sir, why did you shoot me?’ and his words to me were, ‘I don’t know.’”
After the shooting, Kinsey said that police handcuffed him and left him bleeding on the sidewalk for a while, ignoring his cries for assistance.
“I was really more worried about him than myself. I was thinking as long as I have my hands up,” Kinsey said, “they’re not going to shoot me. This is what I’m thinking, they’re not going to shoot me. Wow, was I wrong.”
Kinsey was eventually taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital to be treated for his injury.
“Arriving officers attempted to negotiate with two men on the scene, one of whom was later identified as suffering from autism,” said North Miami Police in a statement. “At some point during the on-scene negotiation, one of the responding officers discharged his weapon, striking the employee.”
According to North Miami Police, the officer responsible for shooting Kinsey has been placed on administrative leave. The statement did not mention whether he will face charges, but a state attorney is already involved with the investigation.
WSVN-TV’s full interview with Kinsey and the original cell phone footage can be viewed here: [ABOVE]
Disabled caregiver Charles Kinsey was lying on his back with his hands in the air, attempting to talk to the officers who were aiming their weapons at them. The police had received reports of a man with a gun threatening suicide.
“When I went to the ground, I went to the ground with my hands up,” Kinsey said, “and I am laying there just like this. Telling them again there is no need for firearms. He is autistic. He has a toy truck in his hand.”
Kinsey can be heard clearly saying to police on the video “All he has is a toy truck. A toy truck. I am a behavior therapist at a group home.”
Kinsey was shot while in this submissive position. Kinsey said he still has no idea why the officers shot him.
“I thought it was a mosquito bite, and when it hit me I had my hands in the air, and I’m thinking I just got shot!” Kinsey said. “And I’m saying, ‘Sir, why did you shoot me?’ and his words to me were, ‘I don’t know.’”
After the shooting, Kinsey said that police handcuffed him and left him bleeding on the sidewalk for a while, ignoring his cries for assistance.
“I was really more worried about him than myself. I was thinking as long as I have my hands up,” Kinsey said, “they’re not going to shoot me. This is what I’m thinking, they’re not going to shoot me. Wow, was I wrong.”
Kinsey was eventually taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital to be treated for his injury.
“Arriving officers attempted to negotiate with two men on the scene, one of whom was later identified as suffering from autism,” said North Miami Police in a statement. “At some point during the on-scene negotiation, one of the responding officers discharged his weapon, striking the employee.”
According to North Miami Police, the officer responsible for shooting Kinsey has been placed on administrative leave. The statement did not mention whether he will face charges, but a state attorney is already involved with the investigation.
WSVN-TV’s full interview with Kinsey and the original cell phone footage can be viewed here: [ABOVE]
Video Shows Unarmed Man With Hands Up Shot by Police
An unarmed black man was shot by police while attempting to help a suicidal man with autism in North Miami, officials said.
Cellphone video from the scene showed 47-year-old Charles Kinsey, who is an employee of an assisted living facility, had lain on his back with his hands in the air while speaking with officers, who had drawn their guns.
"I'm like this right here, and when he shot me, it was so surprising," Kinsey told WSVN-TV in Miami. "It was like a mosquito bite, and when it hit me, I'm like, 'I still got my hands in the air,' and I said, 'No, I just got shot!' And I'm saying, 'Sir, why did you shoot me?' and his words to me, he said, 'I don't know.'"
So far, no video has surfaced of the actual shooting, but Kinsey said he still had his hands in the air when officers fired at him.
The video from Monday's incident also showed the 23-year-old autistic client of the facility playing with a toy truck.
"All he has is a toy truck, a toy truck," Kinsey is heard yelling in the minute long video. "I am a behavior therapist at a group home."
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up, you idiot," the man Kinsey was caring for shouts at him. Kinsey was also heard attempting to calm down the autistic man.
"Rinaldo, please be still. Rinaldo, sit down. Rinaldo, lay on your stomach," he says.
Police confirmed that during the encounter one officer fired at Kinsey, who was then transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Officers went to the area after they received a call about an armed man threatening suicide. The officers "attempted to negotiate" with the man, according to police.
The officer who shot Kinsey was placed on administrative leave, per department policy.
Officials said the investigation is underway and is being assisted by the Miami-Dade state attorney's office.
No comments:
Post a Comment