Charles Kinsey was reportedly unarmed when he was shot in the leg by police in Miami this past Monday, while lying on the ground with his hands in the air. Kinsey is a behavioral therapist who was supervising an autistic man. Moments before the shot was fired, video captured Kinsey lying on the ground with his hands in the air next to a man sitting cross-legged with an item at his feet. “All he has is a toy truck, a toy truck. I’m a behavior therapist at a group home,” Kinsey can be heard saying to the officers.
He told the officers he was unarmed and really did not think his life was in danger, but was more concerned about his patient. “I was really more worried about him than myself because I know as long as I got my hands up, they’re not going to shoot me,” he says. “This is what I’m thinking, ‘They’re not going to shoot me.’ Wow was I wrong.”
The actually shooting incident was not captured, but Mr. Kinsey insists he held his hands up the entire time. Officers approached the wounded man, patted him down and handcuffed him. Kinsey is quoted saying “When he hit me, I’m like, I still got my hands in the air and I know I just got shot. I’m like, ‘Sir, why did you shoot me?’ He’s like, ‘I don’t know,’” he says.
A press conference held Thursday by the North Miami Police Department acknowledges there was no gun found at the scene. NMPD has handed the investigation over to an outside agency in hopes that it will prove the department’s commitment to transparency and objectivity,
I don’t know what to do now… Lay on the ground w my arms up, reach for ID, sit still, help the autistic hell idk https://t.co/Fe763tdjwp
— KXNG CROOKED (@CrookedIntriago) July 21, 2016
So is this #CharlesKinsey silence the “he’s no angel” portion of the game? Where y’all check his 8th school reports & his driving records?
— Questlove Gomez (@questlove) July 21, 2016
Dear #AllLivesMatter crew: #CharlesKinsey needs your help. —-or nah?
— Questlove Gomez (@questlove) July 21, 2016
Kinsey: ‘why did you shoot me?’
Officer: ‘i dont know’#charleskinseyhttps://t.co/HAssan4Bhg— Open Mike Eagle (@Mike_Eagle) July 21, 2016
the man in Miami asked that fuckboy officer why did you shoot me…cops says, “I Don’t Know…” WTF! #blacklivesmatter yo…man smh
— Lyric Jones (@LyricJones) July 21, 2016