An unnamed Miami police officer is being investigated after shooting a black man who was unarmed, compliant, and laying down on the ground with his hands up.
Police say they were responding to reports of a man walking around with a gun, threatening to commit suicide. However, no gun was recovered from the incident.
Thankfully, 46-year-old Charles Kinsey was not seriously hurt in the shooting, but gained an injury to his leg. The officer fired at him three times.
He is a behavioural therapist, and was attempting to help an autistic patient who had become disoriented and wandered away from the mental health facility where Kinsey worked.
Phone footage shows Kinsey laying on the ground with his hands in the air, attempting to tell police that both he and the patient are unarmed. He complies fully with police orders.
(Note: the shooting is not captured in the video, for those concerned about graphic content):
Video of an unarmed Charles Kinsey trying to help autistic client just b4 he is shot by @NorthMiamiPD @WPLGLocal10 pic.twitter.com/1Nt9v1nFtZ
— Todd Tongen (@toddtongen) July 20, 2016
Kinsey, who has done an interview with WSVN-Channel 7 from his hospital bed, said that the police officer couldn’t even answer why he chose to fire his weapon:
“I am asking the officer, I said, ‘sir, please don’t shoot me. Please, do not shoot me’,” he said.“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’.”
#charleskinsey An unarmed therapist helping an Autistic patient was shot by police!He was unarmed & had hands up! pic.twitter.com/MCAAZSUXuA
— Uldouz (@Uldouz) July 21, 2016
In a an official statement, police chief Gary Eugene said that the officer in question has been placed on administrative leave. He told press that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement would be conducting an investigation into the incident at his request:
“There are many questions about what happened on Monday night.I assure you we will get all the answers.”
Source: WSVN-Channel 7 / ABC.
Photo: Twitter.
