# Its ok. The police were trying to shoot the autistic guy, they just hit the black guy by accident **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 23, 2016, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-ok-the-police-were-trying-to-shoot-the-autistic-guy-they-just-hit-the-black-guy-by-accident/760672 "2016-07-23T13:20:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-ok-the-police-were-trying-to-shoot-the-autistic-guy-they-just-hit-the-black-guy-by-accident/760672/1 "2016-07-23T13:20:48Z")
Good publicity. > **[Miami police union president: Cop fired weapon to protect unarmed black man,...](https://www.yahoo.com/news/miami-police-union-president-cop-000000956.html)** > > The North Miami police officer who shot an unarmed black man earlier this week was actually aiming for the autistic man in his care, according to the local police union’s leader. John Rivera, president of Dade County Police Benevolent Association,... > [@](#): > > The North Miami police officer who shot an unarmed black man earlier this week was actually aiming for the autistic man in his care, according to the local police union’s leader. > > John Rivera, president of Dade County Police Benevolent Association, said the officers on the scene thought the autistic man’s toy was a gun and that he intended to harm Charles Kinsey, a behavioral therapist at a nearby assisted-living home. > > “Many officers thought the white male had a firearm. Only much later when we’re able to Monday-morning quarterback do we find out that it’s a toy,” Rivera said at a press conference Thursday. “Only much later do we find out that the individual was autistic. The officers on the scene did not know that.” I don’t know what to make of all this. Funny and sad and angry all at once. The story is an obvious cover up, but still kind of funny. I guess that is why they handcuffed the black guy, for his protection after they shot him by accident. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-ok-the-police-were-trying-to-shoot-the-autistic-guy-they-just-hit-the-black-guy-by-accident/760672/2 "2016-07-23T13:26:11Z")
Recently I saw a bunch of black teenagers running around my apartment complex with airsoft guns. They look like real guns, except they have an orange tip. to me it was obvious they were airsoft, but I worried what if some citizen panicked and assumed they were real guns, told the police they were carrying real guns, and the police reacted based on that knowledge? Luckily I saw nothing in the paper the next day. ---
**Author:** ![Chihuahua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-ok-the-police-were-trying-to-shoot-the-autistic-guy-they-just-hit-the-black-guy-by-accident/760672/3 "2016-07-23T13:32:16Z")
Yup, because murdering an unarmed autistic man is so much better than murdering a black man? Even if this excuse wasn’t obvious bullshit, it’s still attempted murder, either way. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-ok-the-police-were-trying-to-shoot-the-autistic-guy-they-just-hit-the-black-guy-by-accident/760672/4 "2016-07-23T13:34:08Z")
I’m going to assume a paid vacation followed by full exoneration is somewhat likely. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-ok-the-police-were-trying-to-shoot-the-autistic-guy-they-just-hit-the-black-guy-by-accident/760672/5 "2016-07-23T13:36:06Z")
Again. It’s nuts. I had heard originally that he was shot three times. But I guess ‘just’ once. Perhaps the cop shot three times and only hit him once? Seriously, I know that police are wound real tight lately but… If they wanted to spin a story, they should have called it an accidental discharge (of his gun). And it should be a complete discharge of his job. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-ok-the-police-were-trying-to-shoot-the-autistic-guy-they-just-hit-the-black-guy-by-accident/760672/6 "2016-07-23T13:41:13Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Again. It’s nuts. I had heard originally that he was shot three times. But I guess ‘just’ once. Perhaps the cop shot three times and only hit him once? > > Seriously, I know that police are wound real tight lately but… If they wanted to spin a story, they should have called it **an accidental discharge (of his gun).** And it should be a complete discharge of his job. One shot-plausible. Three times, no way. Maybe the police need retraining in recognizing guns. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-ok-the-police-were-trying-to-shoot-the-autistic-guy-they-just-hit-the-black-guy-by-accident/760672/7 "2016-07-23T13:48:17Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > One shot-plausible. **Three times, no way.** > Maybe the police need retraining in recognizing guns. Oh, I agree. Just not sure how many times he shot. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-ok-the-police-were-trying-to-shoot-the-autistic-guy-they-just-hit-the-black-guy-by-accident/760672/8 "2016-07-23T14:02:58Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > One shot-plausible. Three times, no way. > Maybe the police need retraining in recognizing guns. They need retraining in how to hire competent police officers and supervisors. One question they need to ask job candidates: “Do you watch the news?” Because it’s becoming obvious to me that many of these cops are tone-deaf about the current climate. Maybe I’m being overly optimistic, but I really do sense that the days of policing with absolute impunity are coming to a close. Just a few more videos like this, and the nation won’t be able to swallow the bullshit rhetoric anymore. And folks aren’t going to want to hear about “more training”. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-ok-the-police-were-trying-to-shoot-the-autistic-guy-they-just-hit-the-black-guy-by-accident/760672/9 "2016-07-23T14:08:28Z")
Officer’s response: “Sorry, force of habit”. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-ok-the-police-were-trying-to-shoot-the-autistic-guy-they-just-hit-the-black-guy-by-accident/760672/10 "2016-07-23T14:11:01Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > They need retraining in how to hire competent police officers and supervisors. One question they need to ask job candidates: “Do you watch the news?” Because it’s becoming obvious to me that many of these cops are tone-deaf about the current climate. > > Maybe I’m being overly optimistic, but I really do sense that the days of policing with absolute impunity are coming to a close. Just a few more videos like this, and the nation won’t be able to swallow the bullshit rhetoric anymore. And folks aren’t going to want to hear about “more training”. Or the current climate that they have had a good part of creating are making them even more trigger happy. It’s a catch 22 that needs to be completely re-booted. ---
**Author:** ![holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e95f7d/32.png) [@holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/holmes)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-ok-the-police-were-trying-to-shoot-the-autistic-guy-they-just-hit-the-black-guy-by-accident/760672/11 "2016-07-23T14:17:00Z")
This is an interesting case, because we see in real time how the Blue Wall operates. They have suspended a commander for [alleged fabrications](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/police-suspended-charles-kinsey-shooting_us_5792926ee4b01180b52f1098?section=) concerning the shooting. Think about that for a second. There is video, yet this commander still tried to falsify what had occurred. The head of the Police Union is telling the public this story about an ‘accidental’ shooting, without regard to the ridiculousness of it all. It displays the height of arrogance and the belief that they are untouchable. Unfortunately they may be right. People have to ask themselves, had there not been a video what would have happened to Kinsey? Would there have been a ‘drop’ piece next to him, while the officers put forth the narrative that he was a dangerous person? Are we to believe that the innocent Mr. Kinsey wouldn’t have had his life destroyed if there wasn’t a video? Are we to believe this is the first time this has happened? I think you’re correct **monstro** , the country is finally seeing what black and poor folk have been saying for generations in this country about how they are treated by the police. The ability to for the public to close their eyes to the reality of how unjust the system is, is something society can’t maintain much longer. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-ok-the-police-were-trying-to-shoot-the-autistic-guy-they-just-hit-the-black-guy-by-accident/760672/12 "2016-07-23T14:19:47Z")
The police had no idea what was going on. They were so far away that they couldn’t tell it was a toy, and they couldn’t hear Kinsey telling them it was just a toy. That’s bullshit right there. First rule: know what you’re shooting at. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-ok-the-police-were-trying-to-shoot-the-autistic-guy-they-just-hit-the-black-guy-by-accident/760672/13 "2016-07-23T14:29:02Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > The police had no idea what was going on. They were so far away that they couldn’t tell it was a toy, and they couldn’t hear Kinsey telling them it was just a toy. That’s bullshit right there. > > First rule: know what you’re shooting at. And if a police officer has to be trained in something so basic, that means he’s too stupid to become a police officer. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-ok-the-police-were-trying-to-shoot-the-autistic-guy-they-just-hit-the-black-guy-by-accident/760672/14 "2016-07-23T14:45:48Z")
What’s ironic is that in the PD’s attempt to brush this aside as an accident not relevant to the Black Lives Matter movement, they reveal that this case is actually emblematic of the problems BLM are trying to combat. - Violent, trigger happy police officers who are all too willing to sacrifice black lives in pursuit of compliance, not matter how minor and inconsequential compliance is to restoring law and order - Zero tolerance for any risk to themselves, even when that stance greatly increases risks to innocent bystanders - Leadership that lies, distorts, covers up, and actually encourages unethical conduct among police officers, promoting such a lack of accountability in their ranks that the very idea that an officer should be disciplined for shooting a cooperative unarmed man and then cuffing him is treated as an moral outrage. - Officers so pathologically used to lying that they do so even when they know they are being filmed The last point is extremely important because it was Ferguson that really kicked off the BLM movement, and that was a case that lacked video evidence. All we really had to go on was the officer’s claims and that of the witnesses. After all the videos that have come to light after Mike Brown was gunned down, I don’t understand why any sensible person would continue to put stock in that cop’s dramatic tale of self-defense. It was unbelievable to me then and extra unbelievable to me now. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-ok-the-police-were-trying-to-shoot-the-autistic-guy-they-just-hit-the-black-guy-by-accident/760672/15 "2016-07-23T14:55:55Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > The last point is extremely important because it was Ferguson that really kicked off the BLM movement, and that was a case that lacked video evidence. All we really had to go on was the officer’s claims and that of the witnesses. After all the videos that have come to light after Mike Brown was gunned down, I don’t understand why any sensible person would continue to put stock in that cop’s dramatic tale of self-defense. It was unbelievable to me then and extra unbelievable to me now. [The forensic evidence.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/11/28/the-physical-evidence-in-the-michael-brown-case-supported-the-officer/) Care to link to the videos that show otherwise? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-ok-the-police-were-trying-to-shoot-the-autistic-guy-they-just-hit-the-black-guy-by-accident/760672/16 "2016-07-23T15:00:22Z")
When cops can shoot (and this time not kill) citizens with absolutely zero serious penalties, dependably, how is that not a police state with the police running the show? Who’s in charge? Cops. It dosen’t matter if you’re lying on the ground with your fucking hands up. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-ok-the-police-were-trying-to-shoot-the-autistic-guy-they-just-hit-the-black-guy-by-accident/760672/17 "2016-07-23T15:04:47Z")
> [@holmes](#): > > I think you’re correct **monstro** , the country is finally seeing what black and poor folk have been saying for generations in this country about how they are treated by the police. . The mentally ill too, they can get treated pretty roughly by the police. I feel like in all this talk about police overreach, people are leaving out how terrifying and destructive police can be to a mentally ill person. > **[The police brutality epidemic no one is talking about](https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/police-brutality-mental-illness-epidemic/)** > > One of the biggest issues in cop killings continues to go unaddressed. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-ok-the-police-were-trying-to-shoot-the-autistic-guy-they-just-hit-the-black-guy-by-accident/760672/18 "2016-07-23T15:06:46Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Maybe the police need retraining in recognizing guns. “Here, this is a toy truck. And this is a gun. See the difference?” “Oh, my, that’s confusing. Could you run that by me again, slowly, using small words?” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-ok-the-police-were-trying-to-shoot-the-autistic-guy-they-just-hit-the-black-guy-by-accident/760672/19 "2016-07-23T15:11:21Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > “Here, this is a toy truck. And this is a gun. See the difference?” > > “Oh, my, that’s confusing. Could you run that by me again, slowly, using small words?” Yeah, as I read the quote I was thinking ‘Toy gun? Everything I’ve read up until now said it was a toy truck!’ ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-ok-the-police-were-trying-to-shoot-the-autistic-guy-they-just-hit-the-black-guy-by-accident/760672/20 "2016-07-23T15:17:51Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Yeah, as I read the quote I was thinking ‘Toy gun? Everything I’ve read up until now said it was a toy truck!’ Maybe the officer will claim the truck backfired. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-ok-the-police-were-trying-to-shoot-the-autistic-guy-they-just-hit-the-black-guy-by-accident/760672.md?page=2)