Nation
Florida police officer's negligence conviction overturned in 2016 shooting of autistic man's caregiver
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An appeals court on Wednesday overturned the negligence conviction of a Florida police officer who in 2016 shot at an unarmed autistic man and hit his caregiver in the leg, and ordered a new trial.
Former North Miami officer, Jonathan Aledda, was convicted of culpable negligence in 2019 but was acquitted of attempted manslaughter charges. He was sentenced to 100 hours of community service and ordered to write an essay on communication and weapons discharges.
The appeals court ruled that a Florida circuit judge was wrong when he prevented an officer from testifying about training Aledda had received on hostage rescues.
Aledda testified he thought Charles Kinsey, a behavioral therapist, was in a hostage situation and he needed to shoot Arnaldo Rios Soto to protect Kinsey and other officers.
Rios, who had run out of the group home where he was living at the time, was seen on bystander video sitting in the street playing with a shiny toy truck. Kinsey lay down on the ground, put his hands in the air and tried to explain to officers that both he and Rios were unarmed, according to a video of the incident taken by a witness. The video ended before the shooting began.
Two officers who were closer to Kinsey and Rios said they could tell the silver object was a toy, but a commander radioed that it appeared Rios was reloading, according to testimony. Aledda fired three shots at Rios, two of which missed. The third shot hit Kinsey in the leg.
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Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle told The Associated Press in a statement that the court’s decision was disappointing to all who believe the shooting was unnecessary and incorrect, and prosecutors plan to seek a rehearing.
Kinsey is “willing to do whatever is necessary to secure a conviction in this case. He does not think that Officer Aledda should be a police officer and does not think he should get his credentials back,” Kinsey’s attorney Hilton Napoleon told CBS4 Miami.
“While the State was allowed to present evidence as to how other officers on the scene responded to the situation, and how ‘shocked’ those officers were that Aledda fired his weapon, the trial court’s challenged evidentiary ruling precluded Aledda from presenting a key ingredient of his defense,” judges Edwin Scales, Eric Hendon and Bronwyn Miller wrote in their decision.
According to Aledda’s attorney, Eric Schwartzreich, in a statement to CBS4, Aledda is “excited” by the ruling and looking forward to getting his job back.
“We hope this is going to end with the state either dropping the charges or alternatively Mr. Alleda being found not guilty,” Schwartzreich told NBC6.
Aledda pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges, and his first trial ended in a mistrial in March of 2019 after a jury found him not guilty of culpable negligence but deadlocked on the other counts.
Contributing: Elinor Aspegren, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
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Uber, Lyft made safety improvements, but many of those protect riders more than drivers. But drivers are also in danger.
Naomi Ogutu
Opinion contributor
I’ve been a rideshare driver in New York City for six years, and I take pride in my job and helping my passengers get where they need to go safely. But my safety is not a guarantee. I’m a mom of three. I need to know that I’ll make it home to my kids at the end of each night.
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Business
'A bad déjà vu': Under the crush of Western sanctions, Russians fear a return to dark economic days
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The lone No. 1 seed still alive heading into the Elite Eight, Kansas needs only a win against No. 10 Miami (Fla.) to book a spot in the Final Four.
No. 2 Duke and coach Mike Krzyzewski can make one last Final Four and chase one final national championship by beating No. 4 Arkansas.
No. 2 Villanova can reach the national semifinals for the third time in six tournaments by winning what should be a defense-dominated brawl against No. 5 Houston.
And after beating No. 4 UCLA in the Sweet 16, No. 8 North Carolina is one win from reaching the Final Four under first-year coach Hubert Davis.
If everything goes according to plan, this year’s Final Four will consist of some of the biggest names in the history of the sport.
But the last week has taught us that this year’s NCAA Tournament will inevitably deviate from the script.
So look for the Jayhawks to be shocked in the Elite Eight, as the Bill Self collection of tournament collapses adds another painful chapter. Based on how things have gone through three rounds, Arkansas is a lock to send Krzyzewski into retirement one game shy of the Final Four. Villanova may be a two-time champion under Jay Wright, but the Wildcats will be smothered by Houston.
And, of course, the Tar Heels will lose to the team that embodies the wackiness and uncertainty of this entire tournament.
Saint Peter’s stands at the precipice of another outlandish achievement: being the first No. 15 seed — the first seed lower than No. 11, in fact — to reach the Final Four.
The Peacocks will be the underdog once again come Sunday, when they’ll match against a deeper and more talented opponent with decades of history to more than overshadow the Peacocks’ three-game run.
But beating another college basketball giant will simply take what we already know the Peacocks can bring to the table: Saint Peter’s reached the Elite Eight with energy, aggressiveness and composure, following the model set by unflappable coach Shaheen Holloway, and that same combination will give the Peacocks a chance at etching themselves into an even more permanent place in NCAA Tournament history.
“We’re happy but don’t mistake, we’re not satisfied, we’re not satisfied at all,” said guard Doug Edert. “The job is not finished. We feel like we belong and the more games we win the more confidence we build.”
That sounds like bad news for the Tar Heels, who might’ve righted the ship after a poor start to ACC play but could be the latest blueblood to the Peacocks’ formula.
At some point, the magic has to run out — for Saint Peter’s, which somehow keeps stacking upsets of higher-ranked opponents, and for the tournament at large, which has been wackier than ever but could suddenly snap back to the status quo.
But this March has not gone according to plan. Several big names lost early. Others failed to get out of the second round. The story of this year’s tournament has been upsets, shockers, letdowns, unpredictable officiating and unpredictability, period — why should the next two days be any different?
Follow colleges reporter Paul Myerberg on Twitter @PaulMyerberg
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