Prosecutors will retry officer accused of wounding caretaker

MIAMI – A Florida police officer accused of shooting and wounding a severely autistic man’s caretaker is facing another trial.

Prosecutors in South Florida said Wednesday that they’ll retry Jonathan Aledda.

Earlier this month, the North Miami police officer was acquitted on a misdemeanour negligence count. A second negligence charge and two counts of attempted manslaughter resulted in a hung jury. A mistrial was declared on those three charges.

Aledda testified at trial that he thought Arnaldo Rios Soto had a gun and was holding his caretaker, Charles Kinsey, hostage. It turned out Rios was holding a toy truck.

Authorities said Kinsey was lying in the street with his arms upraised, begging police not to shoot.

The incident gained national attention after it was partially captured on a bystander’s video.

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Information from: The Miami Herald, http://www.herald.com