North Miami police shoot unarmed caretaker who said he was helping autistic man

NORTH MIAMI, Fla., July 21 (UPI) -- Police in South Florida shot an unarmed caretaker who had his hands in the air as he explained he was a medical professional caring for an autistic man outside a group home, newly released cellphone video shows.

Charles Kinsey, 47, is seen lying on his back with his arms up and telling police he is a behavioral therapist in the video. A man, later identified as a 24-year-old autistic patient from the assisted living facility where Kinsey works, is seen sitting near him cross-legged, at times shouting.

Kinsey was shot at least once in the leg.

The incident unfolded on Monday, when police answered the call near the group home where Kinsey works and the autistic man lives. Police received reports of a suicidal man with a weapon.

In the video, the autistic man can be seen holding a small white object that Kinsey identified as a toy truck.

Kinsey can be heard telling police, "All he has is a toy truck, a toy truck. I am a behavior therapist at a group home."

In the video, Kinsey also can be heard attempting to calm the autistic man, saying "Rinaldo, please be still. Rinaldo, sit down. Rinaldo, lay on your stomach."

After he was shot, Kinsey said he was handcuffed and positioned face down on the pavement for about 20 minutes before an ambulance arrived. He said he asked the officer why he was shot.

"[I said] 'Sir, why did you shoot me? His words to me, he said 'I don't know'," Kinsey said from his hospital bed.

"I was really more worried about [the autistic patient] than myself. 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 said.

"My life flashed in front of me," he said. "When he hit me, my first thing I'm thinking, I'm thinking about my family."

Cellphone video captured the events before and after the shooting but not the shooting itself. It is unclear who recorded the video.

North Miami police said officers "attempted to negotiate" with the men.

Clint Bower, who runs the group home where Kinsey works, described the autistic man as "relatively low function."

The unidentified officer who fired his gun has been placed on administrative leave and the investigation has been handed to the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office.

Members of the Circle of Brotherhood -- a local advocacy group for black men to which Kinsey belonged -- gathered outside the North Miami police station to decry the recent shootings of unarmed black men.

"That could have been any of us, unarmed, going about our daily affairs of our business and our livelihoods as community servants and being gunned down," Lyle Muhammad said.