Luckily, he lived. Miami police shot Charles Kinsey, an unarmed Black man with his hands up who was trying to help an autistic man who had wandered away from an assisted living facility.
Reports the Washington Post:
Charles Kinsey was trying to retrieve a young autistic man who had wandered away from an assisted living facility and was blocking traffic when Kinsey was shot by a North Miami police officer.
In cellphone footage of the incident that emerged Wednesday, Kinsey can be seen lying on the ground with his hands in the air, trying to calm the autistic man and defuse the situation seconds before he is shot.
“All he has is a toy truck in his hand,” Kinsey can be heard saying in the video as police officers with assault rifles hide behind telephone poles approximately 30 feet away.
“That’s all it is,” the caretaker says. “There is no need for guns.”
Seconds later, off camera, one of the officers fired his weapon three times.
A bullet tore through Kinsey’s right leg.
So just so we’re clear, Kinsey was posing no threat, was compliant, explained clearly what was going on…and still got shot, for doing his job.
Kinsey says after he was shot he was handcuffed and left bleeding on the street. Kinsey says he asked the cop why did you shoot me, and he said “I don’t know.”
Police say they got word of a man walking around with a gun, and the officer involved in the shooting has been place on administrative leave.
If there wasn’t cell phone footage of the incident, what would the police report look like? Watch the video below.
Charles, hire the best lawyer you can find.
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Photo: screen cap
