MIAMI — North Miami police shot and injured an unarmed therapist on Monday as he tried to calm an autistic patient who had run away from a group home.
Police responded to a report that a man with a gun was standing on a North Miami street threatening to kill himself, WSVN reported. In fact, the man was a 23-year-old autistic patient holding a toy truck.
Health worker Charles Kinsey, 47, was trying to guide the patient home when police arrived. Kinsey followed police orders to lie on the ground and put his hands in the air.
Video footage showed the health worker keeping his hands aloft as he tried to convince the autistic man to lie down on the ground.
A police officer armed with a rifle then fired three shots, hitting Kinsey in the leg.
Police handcuffed Kinsey and rolled him onto his front. The injured therapist then lay bleeding, face down on the ground for 20 minutes before emergency services arrived, WPLG reported.
Kinsey was not badly injured and was recovering in hospital. He is expected to be discharged on Thursday.
Miami police are investigating the incident. The unnamed officer who shot Kinsey has been placed on administrative leave.
