But when officers arrived, Celestine says Aledda assumed he was the bad guy. He was named the city’s police officer of the month that October.
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“I’m like, ‘Sir, why did you shoot me?’ ” Kinsey said he asked the officer. Aledda was cleared in that incident following an investigation. The officer tried to shoot the man he thought was attacking Kinsey, but mistakenly shot Kinsey instead, Rivera said. He said he has never had a problem with North Miami police.
Officials with the Autism Society and Autism Speaks say only a fraction of officers nationally have been trained to recognize autism.
City authorities did not provide more details about why the cop gunned down Charles Kinsey, as he was only trying to protect an autistic patient in his care. Demonstrators across the United States have protested the use of excessive force by police, particularly against black men.
The officer is Jonathan Aledda, North Miami City Manager Larry Spring Jr. said at a press conference.
According to CNN, the cell phone video was captured moments before the incident and shows what happened before the shooting.
Aledda has since been placed on administrative leave. His race has not been released. “This is a case where a police officer was trying to save Mr. Kinsey’s life, and unfortunately, his shot went astray”. They ordered him to the ground and he complied with his hands up in the air.
A union official has said the officer was aiming for the autistic man because he thought he was a threat, but the officer missed and hit the therapist.
The North Miami police officer involved in the latest high-profile shooting of an unarmed black man is a graduate of Staples High School, according to Westport Now. Sources said Hollant was heard over the radio informing dispatch and other officers he saw a suspect with a gun. His name wasn’t released.
But Monday’s shooting highlights the difficulties officers have in identifying people with autism.
“He is doing OK”, Pastor Kinsey said. They said he then lied to investigators, telling them he wasn’t even at the scene when the shooting happened. But of course the [Florida Department of Law Enforcement] is investigating, and if they find any information that our training was at fault, that will come out in their work.
Speaking with 7News as they sat next to their attorney, the mother and sister of Arnaldo Rios revealed that seeing his caretaker, Charles Kinsey, shot in the leg on Monday evening left the 26-year-old traumatized.
He says he hopes justice is served, while Soto wants it known that her son’s life is precious.
Kinsey said he was trying to coax the autistic man back to a home he had wandered from.
The security guard, Ruben Sebastian, was arrested for resisting arrest and reckless display of a firearm after police recovered the weapon he used for his job – despite having a concealed-carry permit, the Miami New Times reported.
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Mayor Smith Joseph apologized to the wounded man and promised a complete investigation of the shooting.
