Florida officer guilty of negligence for shooting caretaker (Acquitted on felony charge)

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

https://news.yahoo.com/florida-officer-guilty-negligence-shooting-063504144.html

MIAMI (AP) — 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.

[qazplm135]

1. attempted manslaughter is a tough charge to prove

because of the extra specific intent requirement.

I'd probably have charged him with the lightest felony I could find that I thought the jury would go for, just to keep him from being a police officer ever again.

[Delmette2.0]

2. Rec'd for your comment.

I think that most families have a person with a disability. They don't talk about that person very much or at least the details, but they should be. Their family could be the next victims of a cop with "zero tolerance" and "afraid for their life."

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

4. Agreed. nt

[mr_lebowski]

3. He came up with JUST 'good enough' excuses, rather conveniently ...

I guess I can understand why in this case maybe a felony is not warranted (though I could go the other way very easily on it as well).

But he should never be a cop again based on the sheer STUPIDITY of his reading of the situation, and then just letting fly with friggin' 5 shots from 50+ yards away ... when there's an OBVIOUS chance of hitting the wrong person?!?

To think that the doughy autistic 23 y.o. dude, who's just sitting on the ground with a toy truck (how does that look like a gun?) was actually threatening and holding hostage the much larger, much more fit-looking black dude at his side, was terrible judgement.

Cops REALLY need better training on how to approach situations like this one, man.

And less trigger-happy people on the force in general.