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Florida Police Shoot Unarmed Black Therapist Helping Autistic Man

HeadlineJul 21, 2016

Another shocking video of police shooting an African-American man has emerged. It happened Monday in North Miami, Florida. Police shot the unarmed man in the leg as he was attempting to help an autistic man who had wandered away from a group home. Social worker Charles Kinsey is seen lying on the ground with his hands in the air when police shot him. Police have said they were responding to a 911 call about a man with a gun. But in a cellphone video released yesterday, Kinsey can be heard telling police “All he has is a toy truck. A toy truck. I am a behavioral therapist at a group home.”

Charles Kinsey: “All he has is a toy truck. A toy truck. I am a behavioral therapist at a group home.”

Kinsey can also be heard on the video trying to calm down the autistic man, and said he was more worried about his patient’s safety than his own. The video does not show the moment the shots are fired, and Kinsey said officers offered no explanation.

Charles Kinsey: “When he hit me, I’m like—I still got my hands in the air. I said, 'You know, I just got shot.' And I’m standing there. I’m like, 'Sir, why did you shoot me?' And his words to me, he said, 'I don't know.’ … And I’m face down on the ground with cuffs on, waiting on the rescue squad to come. I’d say about 20—about 20 minutes for the rescue squad to get there. And I was bleeding. Yes, bleeding.”

Reuters reported that the North Miami Police Department has placed an officer on leave after the incident and that the Miami-Dade County Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the shooting.

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