A Florida police officer who shot at a man with autism and wounded his caretaker has been found guilty of culpable negligence — a misdemeanor — but not guilty of felony charges.

The officer, Jonathan Aledda, was found not guilty of two counts of attempted manslaughter Monday in the shooting of Charles Kinsey, the caretaker for Arnaldo Rios Soto. The officer was convicted of exposing another person to personal injury, a misdemeanor with a penalty of one year in prison.

When the 2016 incident occurred, Soto had fled his group home with a shiny silver toy truck. Kinsey, a behavioral therapist, lay down on the ground, put his hands in the air and tried to explain to officers that both he and Soto were unarmed, according to video of the incident taken by a witness.

Aledda then fired his rifle at Soto, striking Kinsey in the leg, as radio communication clarified the toy Soto held wasn't a gun, according to officer testimony.

Speaking about Soto, Kinsey told WSVN-TV at the time: "I was really more worried about him than myself ... I was thinking as long as I have my hands up … they’re not going to shoot me. This is what I’m thinking, they’re not going to shoot me. Wow, was I wrong."

North Miami Police Chief Gary Eugene said in July 2016 that officers responded to a call that a man with a gun was threatening to shoot himself. The man was Soto, who Aledda thought was holding Kinsey hostage.

Kinsey seemed to be screaming for help, Aledda recalled Monday, and the officer feared "he might get shot."

In 2016:Autistic man's caretaker shot as he lies in street

Previously:Man with autism 'still traumatized' after police shooting of caregiver

The state attorney said the guilty verdict showed that the shooting was not an accident, but a crime.

"Since July 18, 2016, our community has been traumatized by North Miami Police Officer Jonathan Aledda’s shooting of mental health therapist Charles Kinsey," Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement.

"Tonight, a jury decided that the shooting was not an error or an accident but the crime of culpable negligence."

A witness captured the moments leading up to the shooting in a video that went viral, sparking widespread outrage over police tactics in dealing both with people who have mental disabilities and people of color.

"Police should take an active role and visit group homes, schools and community centers in their cities and towns and meet their residents who live with significant disabilities so they are never perceived as threats by just merely existing," Soto's attorney, Matthew Dietz, told NBC News Tuesday.

Aledda pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges, and his first trial ended in a mistrial in March after a jury found him not guilty of culpable negligence but deadlocked on the other counts.

Contributing: Mary Bowerman, USA TODAY, and Associated Press.

Follow Elinor Aspegren on Twitter: @elinoraspegren