Miami PD Will Spin A Story Of Courage; Many Will Believe It
Brian Entin reports from Miami on how a therapist who works with people with disabilities was shot by North Miami police while he was trying to help his patient with autism. Cellphone video was released showing Charles Kinsey lying on the ground with his hands in the air, telling officers that weapons are not necessary. “When I went to the ground, I went to the ground with my hands up,” Kinsey said, “and I am laying there just like this. Telling them again there is no need for firearms. He is autistic. He has a toy truck in his hand.”
Kinsey said he was attempting to calm an autistic patient who ran away from a group home. Kinsey could be heard in the video saying, “All he has is a toy truck. A toy truck. I am a behavior therapist at a group home.”
He is also heard asking his patient to calm down. “Rinaldo, please be still, Rinaldo. Sit down, Rinaldo. Lay on your stomach.”
The ordeal went on for a few minutes before Kinsey said one of the North Miami police officers shot him. “I’m like this right here, and when he shot me, it was so surprising,” Kinsey said. “I thought it was a mosquito bite, and when it hit me I had my hands in the air, and I’m thinking I just got shot! And I’m saying, ‘Sir, why did you shoot me?’ and his words to me were, ‘I don’t know.’ ”
North Miami Police Will Be Fine
This throws into question where your hands should be when confronted by an officer. Up or down doesn’t matter, you’ve got a good chance of getting shot either way. We know black Americans are 2.5 times as likely as white Americans to be shot and killed by police officers.
In fact, I wonder what these “peace officers” would have reported had there not been video evidence of this criminal activity? What did they write in their official reports before they found out there was video?
In a sane world, when something is wrong, it’s wrong. This officer should not keep his badge and should face the legal necessary consequences. We all know that’s not the world we’re living in. It’s why I no longer expect “good cops” to speak out about these incidents.
The Story
The North Miami police and their union will no doubt spin this until their officer, who feared for his life, is a hero and everyone else is a criminal. A suicidal, mentally ill patient escaped from a high security cell endangering everyone in the state of Florida and the hero officer risked his life by shooting the patient’s evil bodyguard. The perp was going to kill many people with a toy truck.
“Other people have endangered citizens with their keys, wallets, cell phones and pencils. We protect and serve the good people of Florida, we have investigated ourselves and found we never do anything wrong.” Besides, beating and killing is all within police policy. The story works for me and will no doubt work for many others who want to believe it so badly.
