Authorities in North Miami, Florida, on Friday identified the police officer who shot an unarmed African-American man lying in the street with his arms in the air this week.
The officer is Jonathan Aledda, North Miami City Manager Larry Spring Jr. said at a press conference. Aledda, a four-year department veteran and a member of the SWAT team, has been placed on administrative leave.
A second police officer, Emile Hollant, has also been placed on administrative leave without pay after giving conflicting statements to investigators, Spring said.
City authorities didn’t provide more details about why police shot behavior therapist Charles Kinsey on Monday, apparently as he tried to protect an autistic patient in his care.
The shooting has sparked street protests, and Spring said a First Amendment zone will be established outside the police department for demonstrators.
Mayor Smith Joseph apologized to the wounded man and promised a complete investigation of the shooting.
“I have made it clear that I will not tolerate anything that goes against the process,” the mayor said.
Earlier Friday, John Rivera, president of the Dade County Police Benevolent Association, said a video of the shooting doesn’t tell the whole story.
The officer, Rivera said, had been aiming for the patient beside Kinsey, whom he thought posed a danger.
But to Kinsey’s boss, that explanation doesn’t add up.
“The (union) is now trying to say they intended to shoot my client, and instead they shot my employee,” Clint Bower told CNN’s “New Day” on Friday. “To me, that’s just outrageous.”
See More- Source: CNN