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Police shoot autistic man’s caretaker as he lies in street

Posted at 10:54 PM, Jul 20, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-20 22:56:27-04

MIAMI, Florida (AP) — Authorities say a Florida police officer shot and wounded an autistic man’s caretaker following reports of a man threatening to shoot himself.

The Miami Herald reports that North Miami Assistant Police Chief Neal Cuevas says officers responded to the scene Monday and began giving orders to 47-year-old Charles Kinsey and his 23-year-old patient to lie on the ground. Kinsey lies down and tries to get his patient to comply. Cuevas says an officer then fired three times, striking Kinsey in the leg. No weapon was found.

Kinsey’s attorney, Hilton Napoleon, provided a cellphone video to the Herald on Wednesday taken moments before the shooting. It shows Kinsey lying in the middle of the street with his hands up, asking the officers not to shoot him, while the autistic man sits next to him, yelling at him to “shut up.”

Kinsey is black. Police haven’t released the name or race of the officer who shot him.