One day after shooting an unarmed behavioral therapist in the leg, an as-yet-unidentified North Miami police officer has released a statement via his local police union:

The unidentified officer, described as a 30-year-old Hispanic, was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. He could face charges depending on the outcome. "I took this job to save lives and help people," the officer said in a statement Thursday released by the union. "I did what I had to do in a split second to accomplish that and hate to hear others paint me as something I'm not."

Charles Kinsey works as a therapist at a group home for people with developmental disabilities. He was attempting to calm down one of his patients, a young man with autism, who had run away from the group home and was sitting in the middle of the street. A call to 911 reported a man with a gun as wandering in the area and blocking traffic; Kinsey says his client had no gun but a toy truck. Video of the incident does not clearly show what is in the client’s hand, however Kinsey can be heard saying more than once that it is a toy truck. In an effort to calm his client down Kinsey laid down near him, in the middle of the street, with his hands raised in the air. Kinsey is heard on the video saying to police that he is unarmed, his hands are in the air, and asking for his client not to be shot.

Obviously, he forgot to include himself in that request. Video of the incident is below the fold. As of this writing, Kinsey has been treated for the gunshot wound to his leg and released from the hospital. In interviews from his hospital bed, Kinsey says he asked the officer why he shot him. The officer’s reply was “I don’t know.”