Jury selection begins in case of police officer who shot Black caregiver protecting autistic patient in viral video
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On Monday, jury selection begins for a case that forever changed Charles Kinsey’s life after a Florida police officer shot the caregiver as he desperately tried to keep cops from shooting his autistic patient.
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The shooting of the unarmed Black man dominated headlines three years ago because of its sheer shock value as Kinsey laid on the ground, hands up in the air in full submission to the officer’s request, yet he was still shot by a North Miami cop as his autistic patient sat nearby.
As the trial preparations begin, it remains a traumatic experience for Kinsey, the Miami Herald reports.
“I don’t know what to think. I don’t know what to expect,” Kinsey told the Miami Herald. “I still ask myself ‘Why?’ Why did this have to happen? Why me? I wasn’t doing anything wrong.”
“In the last month, it’s really bothered me. I guess, maybe, because the case is coming up. I’m going in with an open mind and hoping for the best.”
Jonathan Aledda, 32, a Hispanic male who had been on the force for four years, was identified as the cop who shot Kinsey.
Aledda has since been placed on administrative leave. A second officer was placed on administrative leave without pay for what they call “evidence of conflicting statements.”
Aledda has been charged with two counts of felony attempted manslaughter, and two counts of culpable negligence.
Kinsey said he was trying to explain to police what was happening and that his patient has autism and was not going to hurt anyone. The autistic man had a toy truck in his hand that officers thought might be a weapon. Arnaldo Rios, the autistic patient and intended target, wasn’t shot.
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Aledda and North Miami are being sued by Kinsey and the family of Arnaldo Rios, the autistic man.
