Miami Cop Shoots Unarmed Black Therapist of White Autistic Man

Miami police union president: Cop fired weapon to protect unarmed black man, but missed

July 22, 2016

Reuters - The North Miami police officer who shot an unarmed black man earlier this week was actually aiming for the autistic man in his care, according to the local police union’s leader.

John Rivera, president of Dade County Police Benevolent Association, said the officers on the scene thought the autistic man’s toy was a gun and that he intended to harm Charles Kinsey, a behavioral therapist at a nearby assisted-living home.

“Many officers thought the white male had a firearm. Only much later when we’re able to Monday-morning quarterback do we find out that it’s a toy,” Rivera said at a press conference Thursday. “Only much later do we find out that the individual was autistic. The officers on the scene did not know that.”

The cop took aim at the autistic man on Monday because he thought Kinsey’s life was in danger, but missed and accidentally struck the caretaker instead, he said.

A video showing Kinsey, 47, lying on the ground with his hands in the air explaining the situation to the officers sparked immediate backlash after it was released Wednesday. Supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement and many others were outraged that Kinsey was shot even though he was complying with the officer’s demands.

Rivera said whoever recorded the video was much closer to the mental-health care worker than the cops and could therefore hear what he was saying much better.

“Folks, being a police officer has always been difficult and lately it’s been more difficult, more challenging. Sometimes police officers do wrong and we let the system work,” he said. “And sometimes police officers are right and we still crucify them. And sometimes police officers make mistakes because at the end of the day, they’re not computers, they’re not robots, they are God’s creation.”

The North Miami Police Department said the officers were responding to a 911 call from a man who was threatening to commit suicide with a gun.

According to Rivera, the incident should not be viewed through the lens of the heightened tension surrounding law enforcement and African-American communities this summer. Distrust of police officers grew throughout the nation this month after officers shot and killed Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La., and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, a suburb of St. Paul, Minn.

Rivera argued that the North Miami incident is unlike the other ones because this time the cop thought of Kinsey as a possible victim worthy of protection — not the suspect.

“This really is a simple yet tragic case,” he said. “You had a bunch of officers doing their job, responding, helping the public. And one officer, like many others, thought that Mr. Kinsey’s life was in danger. He tried to do something about it.”

Rivera repeatedly pleaded for the news media and politicians to share the facts without editorializing the event into something it is not. He accused the media of sensationalizing the story.

He also read a statement written by the officer who shot Kinsey:

“I took this job to save lives and help people. I did what I had to do in a split second to accomplish that and hate to hear others paint me as something I am not.”

But Hilton Napoleon, the attorney for Kinsey, was not buying Rivera’s version of events.

“I don’t understand if he’s aiming at the autistic kid, how he could miss,” Napoleon said to the Miami Herald. “He had plenty of time to tell my client to move.”

He also questioned why the officers would handcuff Kinsey after he was shot and bleeding from the leg if they were in fact looking out for his safety.

“They handcuffed him after he got shot,” Napoleon said.

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There are thousands of comments to this story at Yahoo! all pretty much saying the same thing:

Why would the cop be carrying an AR 15 assault rifle?
Let's see, the cop missed a large target who was sitting on the ground playing with something that looked nothing like a gun. Then, as an apology for hitting the wrong guy, whom they knew to be harmless but likely to be in danger from the big guy--they handcuff him! Right. Sad to think how many hours they put into coming up with this incredibly lame story instead of admitting to what actually happened, taking the blame and possibly suspending or firing the shooter. Cops believe their word should be respected simply because of the badge, but situations like this have shown that, if anything, their word should be given less credence than that of an ordinary citizen. Sad.

That's one heck of a spin doctor story. I don't know what the cop was doing or thinking but it obviously wasn't much. One man paying on his back, the other sitting relatively passively, why was any gun fired? It doesn't even look like a threatening situation... Cop had a case of panic and trigger finger. That's all. Disciple and training evaluation needs to be done on this guy at minimum, at maximum he needs removed from law enforcement because his temperament is not strong enough.

That is about the lamest, BS, excuse I have ever heard. The guy isn't attacking anyone and the guy is on the ground calmly stating what the situation was. Not to mention you flip over and handcuff the guy you're supposed to be protecting? Please tell me you've got something better than this pitiful excuse! By the way you have scopes on the rifle and you can't see from that short distance that he DIDN'T HAVE A GUN! I have an old 22 rifle with a $35 scope from the 80's that I could tell that wasn't a weapon. The really sad part is there are people who are standing by this cop!! All I can say is thank God he didn't die and for video because this cop and his buddies would have told their lies and gotten away with this. Also not for nothing ...he fired at the guy 3 times that close and missed??? He should be fired just for that!!

This 'excuse' is absurd. The man shot (with both hands high in the air) identifies himself as a medical professional, he further identifies the other man as his autistic patient, also clearly and loudly states the object in the mans hand as NOT being a firearm but he was still shot. Then, to add insult to actual injury, after shooting him, why did the police handcuff Mr Kinsey and reportedly leave him for 30 minutes before getting him first aid? This whole event is so full of questions and yet John Rivera is blaming everybody else but the police officer concerned. I'm surprised he doesn't want Mr Kinsey charged with getting in the way of of a police bullet.

What? Protect Kinsey from what? His patient who was just sitting next to him doing absolutely nothing other than just sitting there playing with a toy. What a pile!! How stupid the public must seem to the police union for them to put forth this nonsense and expect anyone to accept it. No. No. No. Not acceptable. Just tell the truth for once and then we can get on with fixing whatever needs to be fixed. Adding more dung to the mountain of dung we already have is only making matters worse. Please. Please just try the truth for once. I promise it will prove to be the right approach. This nonsense is maddening, frustrating, and is THE PROBLEM. That officer needs to be removed from his job. What could be more obvious than that? The police union is as incompetent as the officer. It is the blind leading the blind. Hope is dim and flickering.

So let me get this straight--the cop was not aiming at the black man, he was planning to shoot the mentally disabled man sitting in the street playing with a toy truck? How is that better? If the guy had a toy gun, I could maybe see the "mistake" but a toy truck? The therapist could clearly be heard saying that it was a truck. So if it was accidental, why handcuff the black guy and leave him laying there without helping him until the paramedics arrive? This cop should never be allowed to be near a gun for the rest of his life. Such poor judgment!

Oh, great. He wasn't aiming for the guy with his hands up. He was aiming for the autistic kid with a toy. Much better. If only sometimes me could have tipped him off that it was an autistic kid with a toy, like, say, the guy with his hands up yelling that it was an autistic kid with a toy. The shoot first mentality among cops is an absolute disgrace. Anyone defending the dangerous criminal who shot this man should be thrown in jail with him.

This is why so many people don't trust the cops... because they LIE and their superior officers LIE to protect their LIES!! A SWAT person misses that close to the intended person? They don't hear the health care worker shouting that the man is autistic and has only a toy in his hand? They handcuff the health care worker and put him face down on the sidewalk... the same health care worker they 'claim' to be saving? It doesn't add up! Racism and racial profile have been going on for centuries. We are seeing more and more cases of police brutality and murders because more people are starting to capture the acts on video. The cops use excessive force because they are scared or angry... not because it is warranted. It's about time they are held accountable and I'm glad their acts of violence are being captured on video. But all of it won't mean anything if their superiors do not hold them accountable! They should fire all these 'bad cops' and anyone in their department who covers up for them! They give cops a bad name!

WHAT they should have said is: "Yeah...this situation got way out of hand. This officer is an idiot and has been removed from duty. ALL of the officers involved will be going through additional training on 'situational assessment' to ensure that something like this NEVER happens again. We are sorry...I know that doesn't mean much to the people involved...but we are."