Aledda has since been placed on administrative leave.
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Monday’s shooting was the latest in a violent month of police shootings, but it also highlights the difficulties officers have in identifying people with autism.
While the city’s police force has faced crime issues and its share of homicides and burglaries, it had not dealt with many police-involved incidents before an officer shot Kinsey, a black unarmed mental healthcare worker who was tending to his patient, Arnoldo Eliud Rios Soto, who wandered from a nearby mental health center.
“I really hope they walk that back”, said Clint Bower, the president and CEO of MACtown, a provider of services for people with disabilities. The City Council includes two white members and three Haitian-American councilmen, including Mayor Smith Joseph.
“But I guess with all the shootings that are going on, they are nervous and shook up”, Matthews said.
John Rivera, who runs the Miami Police Benevolent Association, told reporters Thursday that the officer, who has not been identified by name, is a decorated four-year veteran of the police force and a member of the SWAT team.
But to Kinsey’s boss, that explanation doesn’t add up. She said she also warned them to be “alert” to challenging behaviors.
“Just because I’m a Ph.D., I’m not immune from these negative interaction from the police”, Ronnie Dunn, a 54-year-old African-American professor of urban studies at Cleveland State University, said in a phone interview.
As the freaky story gained global attention, public pressure for answers have mounted. He was transported to the hospital with no life-threatening injuries. “He has received extensive crisis intervention training”.
One of the officers thought Rios was about to shoot Kinsey and fired three shots at Rios – but missed and hit Kinsey instead, the police union has said.
The video doesn’t show what happened when the officer opened fire.
Miriam said she was appalled when she saw footage of Kinsey with his arms raised as he told officers he was unarmed and that he was a therapist. In that video, Kinsey is lying in the road, on his stomach and handcuffed. When officers arrived on the scene, they were under the assumption that Rios meant to harm Kinsey, according to officials. Kinsey was released from a local hospital on July 21.
“All he has is a toy truck in his hands”, Kinsey yelled in the video, referring to his patient. Only much later do we find out that the individual was autistic.
“This is not a case of a rogue cop. You have questions, the community has questions, we as a city and police department have questions”, Eugene said at Thursday’s press conference.
The video does not show the moment of the shooting. The 27-year-old autistic man sat cross-legged. You’ve heard it before but may not have been listening.
“Kinsey or his patient could easily have become No. 89”, he said. A 911 caller had said that the second man had a gun, causing police to respond.
“Mr. Kinsey did everything right, let’s be real clear about that”, Rivera said.
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.
‘Why did you shoot me?’
The officer believed he was saving Kinsey’s life, but he accidentally shot him in the leg.
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However, Kinsey’s lawyer has argued the officer told the caregiver he didn’t know why he fired his weapon. He said he tried to explain the situation to officers, then asked his patient to be still and lie down.
