In a surprise move, the Miami State Attorney’s Office charged North Miami Police Officer Jonathan Aledda in last summer’s police shooting of Charles Kinsey, an unarmed black man.
According to the Miami Herald, he was “arrested and charged Wednesday with a felony count of attempted manslaughter, and a misdemeanor charge of culpable negligence.”
The Herald article also noted that this is the first time in her long career that State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle has ever charged a police officer with a crime. In this instance, however, the evidence was compelling enough to prove that the suspect was not a threat, and that Aledda’s use of force was not warranted.
Even more interesting, the Herald reported that two other officers were 20 feet from Kinsey and Rios, and “were about to walk over to put handcuffs on Rios when the shots rang out.”
Those officers are damn lucky that Aledda didn’t shoot them, too.
The State Attorney’s Office also determined that Commander Emile Hollant, who was already cleared of all wrongdoing within weeks of the shooting, did not lie about his involvement in the incident and did not witness the shooting.
In light of these new developments, the SAO should seriously consider filing perjury charges against Assistant Chief Larry Juriga for lying about Hollant’s “conflicting statements,” and witness tampering charges against Commander Angel Rivera, for attempting to coerce Hollant into changing his story to protect the shooter.
Even if the State Attorney’s Office declines to do so, Police Chief Gary Eugene must direct the North Miami Police Department’s Internal Affairs division to initiate an immediate investigation.
This story will be updated as further information becomes available.
UPDATE: Click here for Arrest Warrant and Affidavit in Support of Arrest Warrant
Stephanie
Do you know if the SAO will be charging Larry the should have been fired long time ago but definitely now Juriga? Then definitely need to charge and fire Angel Rivera no question about that.
I have no idea what Katherine Fernandez Rundle is up to. She seems to be full of surprises. First, she released the Chief’s audio interview to the media out of the blue. Willard Shepard at NBC6 broke the story, followed immediately by the Miami New Times, which caught EVERYONE by surprise, especially city officials. That was way too much fun to watch!
Then, one week later – also out of the blue – her office charges Aledda with attempted manslaughter. Who saw that coming? Certainly not I!
The point is, the SAO is so unpredictable, who knows what they have planned. It certainly will be interesting to find out.
Oh, and by the way, the same way they blamed Hollant for the shooting when he had nothing to do with it, certain individuals in the PD tried to blame ME for exposing the Chief’s audio interview. I’d love to take the credit, but it was Rundle who did her own leaking.
And yes, I’m flattered they think I have that much power. But, it just goes to show you how willing they are to point fingers at anyone and everyone in order to save their own asses. They are THAT devious!
Here’s hoping karma does its thing.
You’re right Stephanie, Karma will happen to those who were devious in this incident, it’s a shame that instead of being a person if high moral character and righting the wrong and taking the appropriate action, their inaction shows the kind of people they truly are which is deceitful, untrustworthy and dirty. It takes a person of caliber to stand up and do the right thing and have pride righting the wrong.