Charles Kinsey did everything a person is supposed to do when confronted by police. He held his hands in the air, he laid with his back on the ground, and he told officers that he there was not a need for weapons. However, he was still shot.
Kinsey, a behavior therapist, was attempting to bring an autistic patient back to the facility when police began aiming their guns at him and the autistic patient. Apparently, the police officers believed that the autistic patent had a weapon after responding to a 911 call. Kinsey was on the ground with his hands up and yelled at the police, “All he has is a toy truck in his hand.” Kinsey followed by saying, “There is no need for guns.”
Police ignored Kinsey and shot him in the leg. Police then handcuffed Kinsey and left him bleeding on the ground for over 20 minutes. Kinsey later told reporters that he was shocked by the shooting. When he asked the officer why he shot him, the officer reportedly responded by saying, “I don’t know.”
One day after the video surfaced of Kinsey being shot, the police union gave an unreasonable explanation for the shooting. Officer John Rivera, president of the Police Benevolent Association, explained that the officer believed that the autistic patient was going to do harm to Kinsey. As a result, he shot three times and hit Kinsey by mistake.
But that excuse is ridiculous and should not be accepted by authorities or the public. If Kinsey was the one who police thought was in danger, why was he handcuffed for nearly 30 minutes while bleeding on the the ground? During that time period, Kinsey was not given proper medical treatment.
The fabrication proves, again, how police culture has made it acceptable to shoot without repercussion. The officer who shot Kinsey should be arrested and fired. Someone with such poor judgment should not be paid by taxpayers to protect and serve.
