ACLU 'extremely disturbed' by North Miami police shooting

The latest on the shooting of a black man by police in North Miami, Florida (all times local):

The ACLU of Florida says it is "extremely disturbed" by the police shooting of a black therapist who says he was shot in the middle of the street even though he had his hands raised and told officers he was not armed.

Executive director Howard Simon said Thursday that the shooting of Charles Kinsey in North Miami was the latest in what seems like an endless litany of people who should not have been shot by police.

Kinsey said he was trying to coax an autistic man back to a home he had wandered from. Police said they had responded to reports of a man with a gun threatening to kill himself. No weapon was recovered. Authorities are investigating the shooting.

Nancy Abudu, the ACLU's legal director in Florida, said her group has not received a brutality complaint about the North Miami police or about any questionable shootings.

She said there have been a few complaints about illegal traffic stops.

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12:30 p.m.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch says the Justice Department is aware of the police shooting in North Miami of a black therapist who was trying to calm an autistic patient in the middle of the street.

Lynch says the department is working with local law enforcement to gather as many facts as possible about what occurred.

She said there's not enough information yet to be able to say whether the Justice Department would open its own civil rights investigation.

Charles Kinsey says he was shot by police even though he had his hands in the air and repeatedly told them that no one was armed.

The moments before the shooting were recorded on cellphone video and show Kinsey lying on the ground with his arms raised, talking to his patient and police throughout the standoff with officers.

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11:55 a.m.

A Florida congresswoman says she is stunned by what she saw on video before the shooting of a black caretaker trying to coax his autistic patient into complying with officers.

U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson spoke to reporters after a news conference with police on Thursday. She says "the video is like a nightmare."

The video shows Charles Kinsey lying on the ground with his arms raised, talking to his patient and police throughout the standoff with officers, who appeared to have them surrounded. Police say officers had responded to a 911 call of a man with a gun threatening to commit suicide, and officers responded with that in mind. However, no gun was recovered.

Wilson is promising to follow up with state agencies on their investigations to ensure "justice was done."

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11:45 a.m.

A police chief in Florida is promising a transparent investigation into the shooting of a black caretaker who had been trying to coax his autistic patient into complying with officers.

North Miami Police Chief Gary Eugene said during a news conference Thursday that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is taking over the investigation at his request. The state attorney's office also is investigating.

Eugene says bringing in an outside agency shows the department's commitment to objectivity in a sensitive matter. After the state's investigation is done, the department will do its internal investigation.

The police chief says officers had responded to a 911 call of a man with a gun threatening to commit suicide, and officers responded with that in mind. However, no gun was recovered.

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7:15 a.m.

Authorities say a Florida police officer shot and wounded an autistic man's black caretaker in an incident purportedly captured on cellphone video that shows the caretaker lying down with his arms raised before being shot.

North Miami Assistant Police Chief Neal Cuevas told The Miami Herald that officers responded to the scene Monday following reports of a man threatening to shoot himself. Officers arrived to find 47-year-old Charles Kinsey, a therapist who works with disabilities, according to WSVN-TV, trying to get his 27-year-old patient back to a facility from where he'd wandered.

Cuevas says police ordered Kinsey and the patient, who was sitting in the street playing with a toy truck, to lie on the ground. Kinsey lies down and puts his hands up while trying to get his patient to comply. Cuevas says an officer then fired three times, striking Kinsey in the leg. No weapon was found.

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