UPDATED July 22, 3:28 p.m. ET:
Cell phone video footage of Charles Kinsey, a black man, moments before being shot by North Miami Police was released on Wednesday. The police shooting happened Monday when police arrived on the scene after someone called saying a man was walking around with a gun threatening suicide North Miami Police said reported News 7.
The footage shows Kinsey laying on the ground with his arms up next to another man who is sitting. In the video Kinsey is heard revealing to police that he is a "behavior therapist at a group home" and that the man next to him is a patient who is autistic. Kinsey's patient had reportedly run away from the group home.
"When I went to the ground, I went to the ground with my hands up," Kinsey told News 7 raising his hands like he did in the video during an interview from a hospital bed. "I am laying there just like this. Telling them again there is no need for firearms. He is autistic. He has a toy truck in his hand."
Kinsey is also heard trying to calm the patient, who he refers to as Rinaldo, during the video telling him to "sit down" and lay on his stomach. He later revealed to News 7 he was more worried about his patient than himself in those moments.
"I was thinking as long as I have my hands up…they're not going to shoot me. This is what I'm thinking, they're not going to shoot me. Wow, was I wrong," Kinsey told News 7, saying he was surprised when police shot him. He was so surprised he even asked the police officer why he shot him. His response? "I don't know," said Kinsey.
The video then shows Kinsey on the ground with a police officer above him handcuffing him. Kinsey told News 7 he was upset that after police handcuffed him they flipped him over and he continued to bleed on the concrete.
The name of the North Miami officer was revealed as Jonathan Aledda Friday, Local 10 Newsreports. Aledda, 30, has been with the department for 4 years and is currently on paid administrative leave pending an investigation. A department-issued fact sheet detailed that the police had been called in response to a suicidal Hispanic man with a gun to his head. Once they got there, they somehow made contact with Kinsey and ended up shooting him. It initially declined to name the officer involved and said that the department is limited in what information it can release by Florida law. You can see the fact sheet below.
Speaking with reporters, the head of the Miami Police Benevolent Association revealed that Aledda was reportedly aiming at the patient with autism. John Rivera said Thursday that Aledda "believed Kinsey's patient was armed" and was trying to "save Kinsey's life," CBCreports. Another officer, Commander Emile Hollant, reportedly gave "conflicting statements" to investigators and has been suspended. According to the Miami New Times, the city is currently declining to give specifics regarding Hollant's statements, citing an "ongoing investigation."
We reached out to the North Miami Police Department and will update when available.
