Local organizations, residents and community leaders held a news conference Thursday morning to demand support for non-police crisis response program after the shooting of Donald Armstrong in Model City last week.
On Thursday, March 7, a 40-year-old man, identified by family members as Donald Armstrong, was shot in the area of Northwest 7th Court and 58th Street in Model City.
Officers had responded to the residence after Armstrong's mother called 911 because her son was high on drugs and she didn't want anyone to hurt him.
When they showed up at the house, the man was holding a sharp object, acting erratic and not listening to their commands.
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Video from a witness showed Miami Police officers speaking with the man and then tasing him twice.
The man apparently lunges toward officers, who then fire at him several times.
Police said the man still had the sharp object in his hands, which was why one of their officers decided to shoot.
Model City police involved shooting
The Healing and Justice Center, a coalition of community advocates, including the Circle of Brotherhood, Dream Defenders, Dade County Street Response and Touching Miami with Love discussed Thursday morning the importance of non-police crisis response to situations that they call "non-police related issues."
"What happened last week is something no mother no family should go through," said Rachel Gilmer, the executive director of the Healing and Justice Center. "It’s really a shame that we see as a solution to every problem as a man with a gun."
According to the advisory shared by the organizations with NBC6, “they respond to mental health crises, neighborhood conflict and domestic violence with a non-law enforcement approach, aiming to prevent arrest and instances like Thursday’s police shooting of Donald Armstrong.”
“This is why our organizations came together," said Gilmer. "We believe we can’t actually have public safety without the public, without these people standing right behind me who bring safety and peace to our neighborhoods. We are another type of first responders armed not with weapons but with hearts."
“According to the 9-1-1 callout only 1% of call qualify as ‘violent’ so we are sending people with guns to those 100% calls when 99% of those calls actually are not 'violent,' so we are asking and pleading with the mayor to fund community based public safety instead," added Gilmer.
Dr. Daniel Bober is the Chief of Psychiatry at Memorial Regional Hospital. After watching the video of the moment Armstong gets shot, he told NBC6 police should have been the last resort.
"Police officers are not social workers, they're not therapists, when they get called to a scene they will treat it as a law enforcement situation, not a mental health visit,” Bober said. "The best thing to do is try to have professionals who can deescalate the situation and then if there's no other choice, that's when you bring in the police."
The Miami Police Department's Chief of Police has issued a strongly worded statement after his officers tased and shot Armstrong.
"This incident has been an event that impacted our entire community. Transparency and accountability to our community will always remain our goal," Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales said in the statement. "Communication is paramount to our communities, and we want to ensure all information we disseminate is accurate. The community needs to hear directly from me about the situation. We have two parallel investigations going. One by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, an outside agency that investigates all police-involved shootings, and a second by Miami PD. We are already in the process of our internal investigation regarding all actions taken. I pledge to ensure that our department does better in addressing calls involving mental and behavioral issues. I am asking all of us to pray for Mr. Armstrong and his family during this difficult time."
Armstrong was hospitalized in critical but stable condition and went through surgery Thursday night. His mother is praying he pulls through.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is leading the investigation into the shooting.
