Police shoot unarmed black man lying on ground with his hands in the air

Once again.

In Florida, a police officer shot an unarmed black man on Wednesday.

Charles Kinsey was lying on the ground with his hands above his head when a North Miami police officer shot him in the leg. Kinsey, a behavioral therapist, was attempting to calm his autistic patient, who was clearly upset but not posing as a threat. The patient was blocking traffic after he managed to walk away from his assisted living facility. From the Washington Post:

“All he has is a toy truck in his hand,” Kinsey can be heard saying in the video as police officers with assault rifles hide behind telephone poles approximately 30 feet away.

“That’s all it is,” the caretaker says. “There is no need for guns.”

Seconds later, off camera, one of the officers fired his weapon three times.

A bullet tore through Kinsey’s right leg.

Police apparently mistook the toy truck for a gun. 

The video is yet another exhibit of racist and reactionary policing, and demonstrates yet again that law enforcement is poorly equipped to handle situations involving people with atypical mental conditions.

Inexplicably, after he was shot Kinsey was then handcuffed despite the fact that he was absolutely no threat, and says he was left "bleeding on the pavement for about 20 minutes." From the Washington Post:

“I was thinking as long as I have my hands up … they’re not going to shoot me,” he told local television station WSVN from his hospital bed.

“Wow, was I wrong.”

The shooting was taped by a bystander with a cell phone. The officer has not been named, but has apparently been put on administrative leave, “as is standard policy in police-involved shootings.”