Police shot a black man who was taking care of an autistic man who had wandered from a mental health center into the street, reports the Miami Herald.
On July 18, an unnamed officer shot the caretaker, Charles Kinsey, 47, in the leg with an assault rifle. Kinsey was not badly injured and is scheduled to be released from the hospital July 21.
Video footage taken before the shooting shows Kinsey lying on the ground with his hands in the air, telling his autistic companion to cooperate and lie on the ground, as well.
Assistant Police Chief Neal Cuevas said that police were responding to a 911 call that a man was in the street with a gun threatening suicide. No gun was reported found at the scene.
According to the Miami Herald:
Cellphone video footage obtained by [Kinsey’s attorney Hilton] Napoleon clearly shows the heavy-set autistic man sitting and playing with his toy while Kinsey, dressed in a yellow shirt and shorts, obeys police orders to lie down on his back.
The video, taken before the officer fired his weapon, shows Kinsey on his back with his hands in the air telling police he didn’t have a weapon and asking them not to fire. At one point the autistic man appears to yell at Kinsey to shut up. A second brief video shows officers who are carrying rifles physically patting down Kinsey and the autistic man while they are lying on the ground.
…Kinsey said when he asked the officer why he fired his weapon, the cop responded, “I don’t know.”
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