The attorneys for the man shot by Miami Police in Model City home that was caught on camera say some of their clients' charges will be getting dropped.
Well-known attorney Ben Crump and his co-counsel Larry Handfield demanded Tuesday that the charges against Donald Lenard Armstrong be dropped.
Armstrong, 47, was shot multiple times by officers during the March 7 incident at a home on Northwest 7th Court and later charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and resisting an officer without violence.
On Thursday, Handfield said the Miami-Dade State Attorney's office is considering only filing a misdemeanor charge for resistance.
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"I have been told that’s what's going to happen. Obviously, that’s victory than bogus charge of assault he was arrested for but by misdemeanor that changes the complexity of being able to get out and get him in some program to address mental health crisis he was suffering from," said Handfield.
Handfield also mentioned Armstrong's arraignment is set for April 16th and his probations violation hearing for May 22nd.
"My main concern is trying to get him out so that he can get the kind of help that he's needed," said Handfield. "He's not getting any mental health evaluation or treatment or counseling while he sits in jail still recovering from six bullets being placed in his body."
On Tuesday, Armstrong was scheduled to be arraigned but the Miami-Dade State Attorney's office asked for more time to file formal charges.
Crump held a press conference outside the courtroom where the hearing was supposed to take place Tuesday, alongside Armstrong's mother and Handfield, to ask for the Armstong's charges to be dropped.
"It's insult on top of injury and that is why we are demanding this charges to be dropped," said Crump. "They shoot and paralyze him and now they charge him with aggravated assault?"
Crump and his team are asking that if the charges are not dropped to at least give Armstrong bond. They also want the officer who shot Armstrong to be criminally investigated.
"Excessive force... six bullets," said Crump. "You look at the video yourself and decide for yourself if this was justifiable or not."
Armstrong is at the jail's clinic experiencing some paralysis, and it's unclear at this moment if it's permanent, Crump said.
"He (Armstrong) is being held no bond. I find it utterly ridiculous and unconscionable based on the evidence on this case," said Handfield.
Model City police involved shooting
The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office said they couldn't comment because it's an open case.
According to an arrest report, Armstrong's mother had called 911 asking for officers to be sent "due to his behavior," explaining he "was going through an episode and possibly high on narcotics."
Officers responded and confronted Armstrong, who was armed with "what appeared to be a long sharp object," the report said.
The report said Armstrong was on the porch of the home "acting in a bizarre manner" and screaming at officers, telling them to shoot him in his heart.
The officers told him to drop the object in his hand multiple times but he refused, and one officer used an electronic control weapon on Armstrong, who removed the probes from himself, the report said.
When the officer fired the electronic control weapon a second time, Armstrong became "more enraged" and lunged at officers "while thrusting the object towards the officers," the report said.
That's when Armstrong was shot multiple times by officers.
On a witness's cellphone video obtained by NBC6, mother Denise Armstrong is seen standing on her porch trying to talk with her son. During the interaction, police are heard yelling for her and others to get away from him.
Family members said the object he was holding was a screwdriver.
"I called police to try and get him some help. I need you to pray for him, pray for him, please Lord," Denise Armstrong said.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is leading the investigation into the shooting, which is standard practice.
The shooting led to calls from some in the community for a non-police crisis response program.
Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales also released a statement after the shooting.
"This incident has been an event that impacted our entire community. Transparency and accountability to our community will always remain our goal," 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."
Stay tuned to NBC6 for updates on this story.
