In 2016, North Miami police officer Jonathon Aledda shot unarmed Charles Kinsey, the behavioral therapist of Arnaldo Rios Soto, an autistic man who lived at a nearby group home residence. On Wednesday, a state appeals court overturned his conviction in the case.
Police, arriving on the scene, found Soto holding a toy truck that Officer Aledda claimed to look like a weapon. Officials claim the responding officers believed Soto was holding Kinsey hostage, despite Kinsey getting on the ground with his hands up and begging them not to shoot.
A recording shows Kinsey begging officers not to fire, making it clear that Soto was holding a toy truck. Officer Aledda then opened fire, shooting Kinsey in the leg. Kinsey later asked the police why they shot him, receiving an alleged response of “I don’t know.”
The definition of attempted voluntary manslaughter is where the defendant committed, obtained, or was negligently culpable in an act that would have killed the victim but someone stopped the death or the defendant’s actions failed to kill the victim.
Despite the hard proof that Officer Aledda shot Charles Kinsey, the original jury acquitted him of all charges other than misdemeanor culpable negligence.