A black man in Florida has been shot by police as he tried to help his patient with autism, who had run away from the group home where he worked.
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North Miami Assistant Police Chief Neal Cuevas told The Miami Herald that officers responded to a 911 call on Monday following reports of a man threatening to shoot himself.
When officers arrived, they drew their weapons however, Charles Kinsey, the carer of the 23-year-old man, told them there was no need for firearms and tried to explain what had happened.
“I am a behaviour therapist at a group home,” he explained.
Despite Mr. Kinsey’s attempt to defuse the situation, officers fired multiple shots, one of them striking his leg, NY Times reports.
“When I went to the ground, I’m going to the ground just like this here with my hands up, and I am laying down here just like this, and I’m telling them again, ‘Sir, there is no need for firearms. I’m unarmed, he’s an autistic guy. He got a toy truck in his hand,” he told WSVN-TV.
North Miami Police have not released the officer’s name, but an investigation into the incident continues.
