Florida cop found guilty of negligence after shooting autistic man, caretaker

A Florida police officer has been convicted of a misdemeanor but acquitted of attempted manslaughter for shooting at a severely autistic man and wounding the man’s caretaker.

A jury deliberated for four hours late Monday before finding North Miami police Officer Jonathan Aledda guilty of culpable negligence in the 2016 shooting of caretaker Charles Kinsey, who was trying to protect 27-year-old Arnaldo Rios Soto. Aledda faces up to a year in jail but because he was acquitted of a felony, he might be able to remain a police officer.

Prosecutor Don Horn called the verdict “fair,” while Aledda’s attorney said he was disappointed.

“We thought he should have never been charged,” Douglas Hartman said. A March trial had ended with a hung jury.

Kinsey was shot after Rios fled his group home carrying a shiny silver toy truck and Kinsey went after him. Rios sat down in the street, playing with the truck, and a passer-by reported he was possibly armed. Police soon surrounded Rios and Kinsey at a residential neighborhood intersection.

Video taken by a bystander showed Rios sitting with the truck. Kinsey lay on his back next to him with his hands in the air, begging officers not to shoot. Rios shouted “shut up.” The video ended before the shooting.

Read more at https://nypost.com/2019/06/18/florida-cop-found-guilty-of-negligence-aft...