MIAMI (WSVN) - The attorneys of Donald Armstrong, a man who was left paralyzed after a police confrontation during a mental health episode, held a news conference after his arraignment in Miami.
The 47-year-old Miami man now faces charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest without violence. His attorneys, Ben Crump and Larry Handfield, and family members spoke at a news conference following Armstrong’s arraignment to demand all charges to be dropped.
“First of all, it goes without saying what happened in that video is unconscionable,” said Crump. “She only wanted to get him help. She did not expect for him to get six bullets in his torso.”
The civil rights attorneys have been hired to represent Armstrong after an encounter with Miami Police on March 7 at Northwest 58th Street and Seventh Court, where he was tased twice and shot six times. The incident has since led to outrage and calls for justice.
“I just called the police to get him so help. I need y’all just to pray for him please,” said Denise Armstrong, Donald’s mother. “Do that for me, please, Lord.”
Donald, who was experiencing a mental health episode at the time of the police response, was filmed by bystanders during the confrontation. Video evidence showed Donald at the entrance of the home, allegedly holding a screwdriver. In that same video, Donald lifts his shirt to prove he was unarmed before being tased twice and shot six times by officers.
“That’s excessive. That’s the very definition of excessive. A man on the ground and you continue to empty the clip and then you charge him with aggravated assault,” said Crump.
“I think the video shows that the sole basis of filing allegations of aggravated assault was to cover up for the reckless conduct exhibited by one officer,” said Handfield.
He is now experiencing some paralysis and is being held in the jail’s medical ward.
While Denise couldn’t get through many other words, her attorneys did. Donald’s legal team said that the video clearly shows excessive force being used as several shots were fired even after he had already fallen to the ground.
“It is shocking, it’s deplorable, it’s horrific,” Crump said. “It is what you would teach officers if you wanted to show them what not to do.”
“This was a 911 call for a mental health issue crisis, but instead, he received six bullets that could’ve taken his life,” Handfield said.
One day after the shooting, the family’s pastor, the Rev. Dr. Gaston E. Smith, spoke out about the incident.
“I do know that he was dealing with some emotional, perhaps mental concerns, that his mother was concerned about,” he said in an interview with 7News on March 8. “She reached out for help. She did not reach out for her son to be shot multiple times.”
Crump continued to question the officer’s respond during the incident.
“If it was really a dangerous situation, where all those officers felt their lives were in danger, then they should have had everybody shoot,” he said. “But the other officers didn’t shoot because they knew that it wasn’t a dangerous situation to warrant that use of deadly force.”
Miami Police Chief Manny Morales released a statement following the shooting, saying in part, “I pledge to ensure that our department does better in addressing calls involving mental and behavioral issues.”
Now, the Armstrong family wants the charges of aggregated assault to be dropped and for Donald to recover from his injuries at home. His attorneys are also not ruling out a potential lawsuit.
“How many videos like this do we have to see? We’re going to look at exploring every possible legal redress to this injustice,” Crump said. “What happened on that video was excessive and if we don’t hold police officers accountable, it might be your child next, that’s what this is about.”
Miami Police said that the case is being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Internal Affairs.
Armstrong is being held without bond in a jail hospital. A hearing has been set for Thursday to address a request for a bond to be set in this case.
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