An officer accused of misconduct after the shooting of an unarmed South Florida therapist who had his hands up will not face charges.
Commander Emile Hollant was said to have made conflicting statements after his fellow officer opened fire at Charles Kinsey in a North Miami parking lot last month.
The commander was heard on police radio mistakenly saying that someone at the scene had a gun, but then later maintained he wasn’t at the scene, according to WPLG sources.
However, Hollant will now not face charges after providing a statement saying he only heard Officer Jonathan Aledda’s gunshots because he was going back to his car for a pair of binoculars, according to a memo from the Florida State Attorney’s office.
The commander had been suspended without pay after the shooting, but the memo says North Miami Police Chief Gary Eugene called the suspension was an error.
Accusations against Hollant stemmed from a “miscommunication,” according to the State Attorney’s office.
Kinsey, a 47-year-old group home worker who was shot while trying to calm down 26-year-old autistic patient Arnold Rios, filed a suit against Aledda on Wednesday.
The police union says that Aledda was trying to shoot Rios, though he was only holding a toy truck.
Kinsey’s suit alleges that his civil rights were violated by the officer, claiming that Aledda used excessive force and that he told the officer the object was only a toy.
Both the federal Department of Justice and Florida Department of Law Enforcement are looking into the shooting.
Aledda, who was suspended with pay, does not yet face any charges.