“As long as I got my hands up, they’re not going to shoot me. This is what I’m thinking. Wow. Was I wrong.”
What the f*ck? Charles Kinsey is almost obscenely complaint. And unarmed. Does anybody have a link to a video that shows the moment he’s shot? I’d like to see it. But unless a gun magically flew into his hands, this might top Walter Scott, Oscar Grant, and Andrew Thomas as as the worst police-involved shooting ever.
And how long does an autistic guy have to rock with a toy truck before cops realize it’s a toy truck after being told it’s a toy truck. Do none of the cops have binoculars? I had binoculars.
The only silver lining is that Mr. Kinsey won’t have to work as a therapist much longer. (And also that the cop was a bad shot.) Of course he may need to spend some money on therapy himself.
I saw this when I woke up this morning, and without a doubt THIS is a bad shoot. I Can't even speculate what the f&*k the cop was doing, or even why they made zero effort to approach him after realizing there is no "suicidal man with a gun" but an obviously mentally disabled man with a toy truck instead. To cautiously approach, maybe even pat the therapist down just to make 100% sure there is no guy with a gun, would seem obvious. I wonder if the rifle was an actual auto rather than a semi-auto and it was terrible trigger discipline and an accidental discharge? Or was this just some seriously panicked cop? No clue but his career needs to be over. I have not been able to find an actual video of the shooting, just before and after. this is a genuine face-palm moment.
face-palm moment
Hey, innocent mistake! That shot was meant for the retarded guy with the toy truck!
God, I need a drink.
The union head is admitting he was aiming for the autistic guy. One source is making noises about one cop radioing the ultimate shooter that the autistic guy was "loading his weapon" (quotes are of the newspaper article, not of a person). Whatever.
miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article91160077.html
The cop was on the SWAT team. Presumably the same SWAT team that had a minor scandal last year re the use of suspect photos as range targets. I'm not sure how big of deal cops will see that as. On the other hand, if they subsequently cut back on range time, maybe that's why a SWAT member hit the wrong guy with a long gun despite time to take cover.
nbcmiami.com/news/local/Family-Outraged-After-North-Miami-Beach-Police-Use-Criminal-Photos-as-Shooting-Targets-288739131.html
Yeah, his career should be over. Don't assume that it will be, though. Cops have kept their jobs despite terrible shoots before. There are some similarities between this situation and Doug Zerby's (white guy, btw) fatal shooting in Long Beach.
laweekly.com/news/douglas-zerby-ruling-da-clears-long-beach-police-says-they-killed-troubled-man-in-self-defense-2393726
I suppose what will happen depends on agency culture and the contract, of which I know nothing. But a SWAT guy, who sticks to his story that he was shooting in defense of the guy he actually shot? Plus the guy isn't dead? Plus kicking the cop off of SWAT can be held up as "discipline"? Assuming minimal or no bad paper prior to that – I would bet money that he keeps his job. Not a huge amount of money, but some.
Side notes – I don't think race had anything to do with this. Also, don't assume that the cop being quoted as saying "I don't know" when asked by the victim why he shot him means anything. Clown or not, people say weird stuff in these circustances.
Since this was a SWAT officer and three rounds were fired, I was originally wondering if he had his weapon set on burst and negligently discharged it. Even if the weapon was being held at low ready, then it could have "walked" up and hit Kinsey with one of the rounds.
But the fact they're saying this was an intentional shoot… from a SWAT officer… who fired 3 rounds… which all missed their intended target… is absolutely incredible.
Damn. When I first saw this story, I assumed a skittish rookie had a negligent discharge. A swat cop intentionally targeting an autistic kid with a toy, then missing and hitting a "hostage". There is pain coming all around over this one.
Oh, and to all my fellow cops still saying "i wasn't there", just stop. There is a time and place for that, not this time.
If there had been no video, no wide distribution of the picture of Kinsey lying on the ground hands raised, what do you think the police write-up of this shooting would have looked like?
The investigation is ongoing, but the allegation is that a supervisor (a "Commander", whatever that means in North Miami) is the one that called out on the radio that the autistic guy was loading a weapon. He allegedly subsequently lied about being on scene. There's no public allegation that he ordered the engagement. I assume, for now, that was all the SWAT's guy call.
Again, this was a supervisor.
miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article91406042.html
Maybe the Commander graduated from the same school of tactical leadership that taught Lt Mark Tiller how to approach a car
(video below is of the Zachary Hammond shooting)
youtube.com/watch?v=LJXS27felcg
Whatever the investigation shows, I'm super-duper glad we've got superstars like these.
Thanks for the update. Much appreciated.
This stood out: "In 2014, Aledda received commendations for making 28 arrests in one month." How the hell do you make 28 arrests in a month? (I guess the answer is buy-and-busts? But still, wouldn't they be spread out in your unit, and then not worthy of commendation? Or maybe everybody got an accommodation, just for being there. I'd like to know what he was assigned to.)