Texas Lawyer – The City of North Miami is Sued over an Alleged Police Shooting Involving a Disabled Man
The family of Arnaldo Soto, who has autism, is suing the City of North Miami in connection with an alleged police shooting that occurred on July 18, 2016. The family claims that the disabled man’s civil rights were violated on the day authorities allegedly shot his caregiver. Charles Kinsey, the man who was shot, is also suing the city.
Soto was in the street with Kinsey on the day the incident occurred. Authorities say Kinsey was attempting to talk Soto into going back into his group home. Soto was holding a silver tanker truck toy. Police officers said they thought the toy was a weapon, and they allegedly fired three shots. Kinsey was struck in the leg as his hands were raised in the air. After the alleged shooting, Soto was taken to the police department to be interrogated.
Just on Monday of this week, the police interrogation of Soto was finally released by the police department, which is close to a year after the disabled man was handcuffed and transported to the North Miami Police Department. It’s clear in the surveillance video that Soto was unable to communicate. He asked at one point to have the handcuffs removed, and the police denied his request.
Family members expressed that they were disheartened watching the video. They say the police should have been able to recognize that Soto had autism.
The police officer who allegedly shot Kinsey was charged with attempted manslaughter in April of 2017. Later, after that announcement, prosecutors said they were upgrading the charges to include culpable negligence and an additional attempted manslaughter.
Family members say they are hoping their lawsuit will help to effect changes regarding how developmentally disabled people are viewed.
–Guest Contributor
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