Cop who shot black caretaker was actually aiming for the autistic man armed with a toy truck

Following the baffling shooting of unarmed African American mental health worker Charles Kinsey by Miami Police, a local police union chief shed light on the issue and said the officer was actually aiming for the autistic kid who was armed with a toy truck instead.

As reported by Gawker, John Rivera of the Dade County Police Benevolent Association told reporters that the police officer who shot Charles Kinsey was aiming for “the white male,” who was the young autistic patient. According to Rivera, Police mistook the autistic youth who was obviously holding a toy truck for a suicidal man holding a gun. Miami Police are refusing to answer questions about the incident.

“It appeared to the officers that the white male was trying to do harm to Mr. Kinsey,” Rivera said. “The officers, realizing and believing that there was a firearm — 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.”

The incident began when a 911 caller reported a man with a gun in the area. According to police, officers responded to the call and found Kinsey, a behavioral technician at a nearby group home, and the autistic young adult.

A bystander recorded the incident on his camera phone, where it showed Kinsey lying on his back with his hands in the air and shouting to officers that they’ve misunderstood the situation.

“I am a behavior tech at the group home,” Kinsey yells in the video. “That’s all it is.” Kinsey later told reporters that after the cop fired on him, he asked him why.

“I’m saying, ‘Sir, why did you shoot me?’ and his words to me were, ‘I don’t know.”

From Gawker:

“I DOUBT the police officer said anything,” wrote Javier Ortiz, head of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police, on Facebook. “And, I assure you there is more to this story. Sensationalism at its best.” That’s all for now, but surely that’s not the end of things Ortiz has to tell us. Previously, he justified the fatal police shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice by saying, “act like a thug and you’ll be treated like one” and called the fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling “more than justified.” He also attempted to lead a boycott on Beyoncé over her Super Bowl performance, a boycott his own union called bullshit on.


Featured image via Twitter

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