Model City man who was shot by police has felony charge dropped, prosecutors say
Donald Armstrong, the Model City man who was having a mental breakdown when he was shot multiple times by a Miami police officer last month, no longer will face charges that he assaulted a police officer.
On Tuesday, the MiamiDade State Attorney’s Office said it will not pursue the charge of aggravated assault of a lawenforcement officer against Armstrong. Instead, he will face a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest without violence,
Herald.
Handfield said the resisting arrest without violence charge was inappropriate — and that Armstrong didn’t deserve to be locked up or shot six times.
MIAMI POLICE OFFICER OPENED FIRE ON HIM
On the day of the March 7 shooting, Armstrong’s mother called police pleading for help saying her son, 47, was suffering a mental-health crisis. A standoff ensued as Armstrong stood on the porch of his mother’s home in the Model City neighborhood near Liberty City facing at least a half dozen officers with guns drawn.
In an effort to subdue him, police shot him twice with a Taser. As he fell forward off the porch toward the officers, captured on video, Miami Police Officer Kassandra Mercado opened fire. She hit him six times, according to Armstrong’s attorneys, Benjamin Crump and Handfield.
Police have not said how many times Armstrong was struck or why none of the other officers fired. The shooting is being investigated.
Mercado has been administratively reassigned. She normally patrols Model City.
For Handfield, police must do a “better job” when responding to calls related to mental-health crises. But despite the legal win, Armstrong will remain in jail until his next hearing on May 22 due to a probation-violation charge associated with his arrest.