Ben Crump Represents Victim Shot By Miami Police

One prominent Black attorney is opening his button up and showing his "S" on his chest.

Civil Rights attorney Ben Crump will continue to represent a man who was shot several times by City of Miami Police officers back on March 7, according to CBS News.

The entire video shows Donald Armstrong at the entrance of a home on Northwest 57th Street and 7th Court, holding a sharp object, police allege. Police were called to the home by Armstrong’s mother in what was reported to be a mental health crisis.

Then, Armstrong is seen lifting his shirt when he is tased twice, and then several shots were fired by the police.

Subsequently, Armstrong was charged with aggravated assault on the police. He was scheduled to be arraigned last Tuesday but did so on Thursday.

Now, Crump represents Armstrong and his family.

Crump said the video displays Armstrong having a screwdriver in his hands. Crump said police hit him twice with tasers and as he was falling to the ground he was shot. After hitting the ground, Crump said he was shot even more.

"First of all, it goes without saying what happened on that video is unconscionable," Crump said.

And the attorneys said what they saw was not a criminal, but a man who was victimized by the police.

"They shoot and paralyze him, and now they are charging him with aggravated assault? Based on what you see on that video, I mean it's shocking. It's deplorable," said Crump.  

Crump went on to say that Armstrong didn’t deserve to be shot like a dog. And that they want the charges dropped.

Armstrong was shot by the police six times following being shocked by a taser, and Crump said he is now experiencing paralysis.

"Six bullets in his torso. Why is it when Black people are having a mental health crisis and all they need from law enforcement is a helping hand they get force, excessive force," said Crump.

Right after the shooting, Miami Chief of Police Manuel Morales issued a statement:

"This incident has been an event that impacted our entire community. Transparency and accountability to our community will always remain our goal. 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," he said.