Tag Archives: Florida

Video shows man with hands up before Florida police shooting

y Zachary Fagenson

NORTH MIAMI, Florida (Reuters) – An employee of a group home who was shot by police in North Miami, Florida, said he was more worried about his autistic patient than himself before he felt the sting of a bullet in his leg.

Behavioral therapist Charles Kinsey told WSVN-TV in Miami on Wednesday that he was trying to calm the man, who had run away from the home on Monday when police showed up. Kinsey was on his back with his hands up and open to comply with the commands of the officers, who according to a police statement were responding to a 911 call about an armed man threatening suicide.

“As long as I’ve got my hands up, they’re not going to shoot me. This is what I’m thinking,” Kinsey said in an interview from his hospital bed on Wednesday. “Wow, was I wrong.”

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said on Thursday the Justice Department was gathering information about the incident, the latest in a series of controversial shootings of black men by police in the United States.

Kinsey said he told police he was unarmed and there was no need for guns. He told WSVN-TV he kept his hands up throughout the incident and that he asked the officer, “Sir, why did you shoot me?”

“He said, ‘I don’t know,'” Kinsey said.

The officer, who has not been named, is on administrative leave per standard procedure, the department said.

Cellphone video showing Kinsey with his hands high before police opened fire emerged online on Wednesday, sparking new outrage. The shooting itself was not recorded.

In the video, Kinsey can be heard talking to both his patient and police while prone in the street.

“All he has is a toy trunk in his hands … I am a behavior therapist at a group home,” Kinsey yells. He also urges his patient, who is sitting nearby, to lie down and be still.

The autistic man tells him to “shut up” and does not comply.

Videos in the past year of such shootings or their aftermath in cities including North Charleston, South Carolina; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota have spurred protests over use of force against minorities by police. The Baton Rouge and St. Paul incidents were followed by attacks that killed eight police officers.

Police in North Miami have offered few details about the latest incident. Police Chief Gary Eugene told reporters on Thursday he had asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to lead the investigation.

Eugene said officers responded to the scene with the threat of a gun in mind but no gun was recovered.

“There are many questions about what happened on Monday night,” the chief said. “I assure you we will get all the answers.”

(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien, Colleen Jenkins and Michelle Gershberg; Writing by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Bill Trott)

Florida health department investigates possible local Zika transmission

Mosquito being studied for Zika

(Reuters) – Florida health officials said on Tuesday they are investigating a case of Zika virus infection that does not appear to have stemmed from travel to another region with an outbreak.

The statement from the Florida Department of Health did not specify whether the Zika case was believed to have been transmitted via mosquito bite, sexual contact or other means.

The department said the case was reported in Miami-Dade County and that it is working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on an epidemiological study.

The department also reiterated guidance to Florida residents on protecting themselves from mosquitoes that may carry the virus.

“Zika prevention kits and repellant will be available for pickup … and distributed in the area under investigation,” the health department said in a statement. “Mosquito control has already conducted reduction and prevention activities in the area of investigation.”

Zika, which can cause a rare birth defect and other neurological conditions, has spread rapidly through the Americas. A small number of cases of Zika transmitted between sexual partners have also been documented.

There has yet to be a case of local transmission by mosquitoes in the continental United States, though more than 1,300 people in the country have reported infections after traveling to a Zika outbreak area.

U.S. officials have predicted local outbreaks to begin as the weather warms, particularly in southern states such as Florida and Texas.

(Reporting by Michele Gershberg in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Bernard Orr)

First baby with Zika-related birth defect microcephaly born in Florida

Hillsborough County mosquito control drives through a neighborhood spraying against mosquitos

By Colleen Jenkins

(Reuters) – A Haitian woman in Florida has delivered the first baby in the state born with the birth defect microcephaly caused by the Zika virus, Florida’s health department said on Tuesday.

The mother contracted the mosquito-borne virus in her home country and traveled to Florida to give birth, state officials said in statements.

If confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the child will be the fifth in the United States to be born with a birth defect linked with travel to a country in which Zika is circulating.

Another four pregnant women lost their babies as a result of travel-related Zika infections, according to the latest CDC report as of June 16. So far, there have not been any cases of Zika in the United States arising from local mosquito transmission.

The CDC’s U.S. Zika Pregnancy Registry does not specify the states where those cases occurred. Cases of babies with microcephaly previously were reported in Hawaii and New Jersey.

U.S. health officials have concluded that Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by unusually small head size and potentially severe developmental problems.

The U.S. cases so far involve women who contracted the virus outside the United States in areas with active Zika outbreaks, or were infected through unprotected sex with an infected partner.

Health experts expect local transmission to occur in the United States as mosquito season gets underway, particularly in states such as Florida and Texas.

Florida Governor Rick Scott signed an executive order last week that allocated about $26 million for Zika preparation and response in the state. But in Washington on Tuesday, funding to battle the virus failed to advance in the U.S. Senate.

The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light last fall in Brazil, which has now confirmed more than 1,400 cases of microcephaly that it considers to be related to Zika infections in the mothers.

The World Health Organization has said there is strong scientific consensus that Zika also can cause Guillain-Barre, a rare neurological syndrome that causes temporary paralysis in adults.

(Reporting by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Julie Steenhuysen and Bernard Orr)

Florida gator that killed boy likely removed: authorities

Lane Graves killed by gator in Florida

(Reuters) – The Florida alligator that killed a vacationing 2-year-old boy at Disney World Resort has likely been removed from the area of the attack, authorities said on Wednesday.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said it had suspended trapping activities near where the boy, Lane Graves, of Elkhorn, Nebraska, was attacked last week.

The commission “is confident that the alligator responsible for the attack has been removed,” it said in a statement. Trappers have taken six alligators from the area.

The alligator snatched the toddler on June 14 as he played at the edge of the Seven Seas Lagoon, a manmade lake at the Walt Disney Co resort.

Police divers found Lane’s body underwater the following afternoon, not far from where he was taken. An autopsy found that he died from drowning and traumatic injuries.

At the time, the resort had “No Swimming” signs that did not mention alligators. Disney has since installed signs by the lagoon warning guests of alligators and snakes.

(Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Daniel Wallis and David Gregorio)

Disney World’s ongoing battle against ‘nuisance’ alligators

Alligator Trapper at Disney World

By Jeffrey Dastin

(Reuters) – Walt Disney Co has had more than 240 “nuisance” alligators captured and killed over the last 10 years at its Florida theme park property, according to state records.

The records reveal the park’s constant struggle to keep alligators away from humans in a region where the creatures live and breed.

Last week, a 2-year-old boy at the Walt Disney World Resort died after an alligator attack at the edge of a hotel lagoon. Critics questioned why Disney hadn’t posted signs warning guests of the presence of alligators in the area; the company has since installed such signage.

“You’ll never be able to get them all,” said Florida trapper Ron Ziemba, who helped trap and kill nuisance alligators on Disney World property for five years until late 2015. “There are just so many canals, so many waterways. The gators travel a lot.”

As humans encroach into alligators’ habitat, encounters are inevitable, Ziemba said, noting that he has removed the reptiles from a Disney parking lot and from the lobby of a nearby hotel not run by the resort.

Under Florida’s Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program, Disney World’s property has been designated a “targeted harvest area,” meaning the state has issued a blanket permit for the taking of problem alligators in the area.

The state considers an alligator a nuisance if it is at least 4 feet in length and is believed to pose a threat to people, property or pets.

Disney’s alligator harvest permit, which was issued in 2009 and expires in 2019, specifies that the resort can remove up to 300 alligators of more than 4 feet in length from the area during the 10 years covered by the agreement.

Disney has been removing an average of 24 large alligators annually from its property, or about six fewer per year than the permit would allow.

From May 2006 through May 2016, 239 nuisance alligators were removed from Disney property and euthanized, according to documents provided by the state. That does not include six that were removed in the wake of last week’s attack.

The permit designates a state-authorized trapper to remove problem alligators. An additional “special purpose permit” authorizes certain resort employees to trap and kill alligators without a state trapper “where immediate action is required.”

A Disney spokeswoman declined to say whether company employees have euthanized alligators.

“Walt Disney World is responsible and has a comprehensive approach that helps to reduce the potential for interactions between people and alligators,” the Disney spokeswoman said in a statement, noting that staff members are taught to report alligator sightings.

Disney has set aside nearly a third of its land outside Orlando as a wildlife conservation area, she said, and smaller alligators are relocated there.

The state of Florida supports killing rather than relocating large alligators, because they are likely to return to their original location or become a problem in the area where they are relocated.

Trappers generally receive a $30 state stipend for each alligator they remove, but the bulk of their trapping income is from selling the meat and hides of those alligators.

ALLIGATOR COUNTRY

Florida has an estimated 1.3 million wild alligators, or about one for every 15 residents, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

While attacks on humans are rare, the state’s Nuisance Alligator Program receives many complaints about problem alligators. Between 2005 and 2014, the program averaged about 15,000 requests for help each year and authorized the killing of more than 8,000 alligators annually.

U.S. alligator populations declined drastically during the first half of the 20th century, and alligators were listed as an endangered species in 1967, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Since then, with careful management, the population has recovered, and the species was delisted in 1987, though it is still under management by states where it is found.

Tracy Howell, 53, is the state-designated trapper responsible for Disney’s targeted harvest area. He does not work for the theme park, but is authorized by the state to remove and euthanize nuisance alligators when the company identifies a problem.

“Disney has a really good alligator program,” Howell said. The company is diligent, he added, about trying “to keep large alligators away from the public.”

Records show the largest alligator trapped on Disney World property in the last 10 years was 13 feet long and was captured in January 2015. Most of the alligators taken from the area were under 7 feet.

Alligators are often removed from the property alive and killed later, but Howell says he tells his trapping team to euthanize them on the spot if they feel threatened.

Trappers say they generally kill alligators with a bullet to the base of the skull, sometimes delivered by a “bang stick,” a specialized firearm that discharges upon contact with the alligator underwater.

Capturing reptiles alive has the benefit of buying time for processing the meat, because the reptiles begin to rot if they aren’t placed in a cooler within an hour of death, Ziemba said.

“If we’re moving them live, we have cages that we put them in,” Howell said. “You would never even know we were moving an alligator down the highway.”

(Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in New York; Editing by Sue Horton and Leslie Adler)

Items from sailboat of missing family found off Florida coast

By Laila Kearney

(Reuters) – Crews searching waters off the Florida coast have found life vests and other items belonging to a man and his teenage children, who were reported missing after setting off on a sailboat three days ago, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday.

Ace Kimberly, 45, two sons aged 13 and 15, a 17-year-old daughter and their 29-foot-sailboat (9-meter) have not been located, Coast Guard Captain Gregory Case told reporters.

The Kimberly family was last seen on Sunday morning, when they set sail from Sarasota, Florida, and were headed to Fort Myers.

Later that day, Ace Kimberly phoned his brother from the boat and told him he was struggling with rough seas and thunderstorms off Englewood, a community about 30 miles south of Sarasota, Case said.

“That was the last that he heard from him,” Case said.

The family, who had lived on the vessel for about a year, was traveling to Fort Myers to have the boat repaired, the Coast Guard said.

At first light on Wednesday, the Coast Guard sent an HC-130 Hercules rescue aircrew to resume its search for the missing family.

The debris field spotted midday 33 miles offshore included six life vests, a basketball, propane tank, tennis shoes and several water bottles, which Kimberly’s brother identified as belonging to his relatives.

The brother said the group might have had an additional life vest and two kayaks that were not spotted by search crews, which has heartened searchers attempting to find the family alive, Case said.

“We’re always hopeful,” he said.

The search, which has also involved several state and local maritime emergency responders, will continue throughout the day.

(Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

Search resumes off Florida for missing family on sailboat

(Reuters) – Search crews were scouring the waters off the Florida coast early on Wednesday for a man and his three teenage children who were reported missing after setting off on a 29-foot-sailboat (9-meter) three days ago, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The family, including the father, two boys aged 13 and 15 and a 17-year-old girl, were last seen on Sunday morning, when they set sail from Sarasota, Florida, and were headed to Fort Myers, the Coast Guard said in a statement.

Later that day, the father phoned his brother from the boat and told him he was struggling with six-foot-waves and “attempting to survive with his children” offshore of Englewood, a community about 30 miles south of Sarasota, the Coast Guard said.

The family, who was not named, were traveling to Fort Myers to have the boat repaired, the Coast Guard said.

At first light on Wednesday, the Coast Guard sent an HC-130 Hercules rescue aircrew to resume its search for the missing family, it said on Twitter.

Several state and local maritime emergency responders have also been involved in the search.

(Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

Full Orlando 911 transcript released; gunman pledged allegiance to Islamic State

Makeshift memorial for victims of Pulse shooting

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department and the FBI on Monday released what they said was the complete transcript of the phone conversation between the Orlando, Florida, shooter and 911 police operators as he threatened to strap explosives to his hostages.

The release of the full transcript came a few hours after the FBI had issued an edited transcript of the calls.

In the full transcript, the gunman, Omar Mateen, is quoted pledging allegiance to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Mateen, 29, killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Florida on June 12, in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. He threatened to detonate a car rigged with bombs and to strap hostages into explosive vests, according to transcripts of the 911 calls he made while police tried to rescue people trapped in the club.

The FBI and Justice Department said they had released a redacted transcript of the conversations because of sensitivity to the interests of survivors and victims’ families, and the integrity of the investigation.

But the first transcript led U.S. House of Representative Speaker Paul Ryan and other politicians to call for the release of a full transcript after a political battle over gun violence brewed in the U.S. Congress.

Mateen’s conversations with a dispatcher and crisis negotiators were made public as police sought to fend off criticism that they may have acted too slowly to end a three-hour standoff at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.

“You people are gonna get it and I’m gonna ignite it if they try to do anything stupid,” Mateen said during one of the calls, according to the FBI transcript.

(Additional reporting by Letitia Stein in Tampa, Frank McGurty in New York, and Eric Beech, Mohammad Zargham and Patricia Zengerle in Washington; Writing by Fiona Ortiz and Daniel Wallis; Editing by Bill Trott)

U.S. to reveal details of Orlando nightclub gunman’s 911 calls

Mourning over Pulse Massacre

(Reuters) – U.S. authorities were due on Monday to release partial transcripts of 911 calls made during last week’s mass shooting by a gunman who slaughtered 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, before being killed by police.

Omar Mateen, 29, is said to have paused during a three-hour siege to telephone emergency dispatchers three times and to post internet messages from inside the Pulse nightclub professing his support for Islamist militant groups.

The FBI was due to hold a news conference near the club at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) to provide an update on the investigation and to release the partial transcripts of the 911 calls.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch said they would include the “substance of his conversations” recorded as Mateen carried out the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, but not any pledge of loyalty he is alleged to have made to the Islamic State militant group.

Authorities have said preliminary evidence indicates Mateen, who worked as a security guard, was a mentally disturbed individual who acted alone and without direction from outside networks.

Lynch, who is due to visit Orlando on Tuesday, told CNN on Sunday that investigators have been focused on building a full profile of Mateen, a New York-born U.S. citizen and Florida resident of Afghan descent, who has been described by U.S. officials as “self-radicalized” in his extremist sympathies.

The Pulse massacre, which also left 53 people wounded, led to a week of national mourning and soul-searching over access to firearms and the vulnerability to hate crimes of people in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.

While in Orlando, Lynch will meet with investigators, as well as survivors and loved ones of the victims.

The massacre has triggered an effort to break a long-standing stalemate in Congress over gun control.

The Senate was set to vote on Monday on four competing measures – two from Democrats and two from Republicans – to expand background checks on gun buyers and curb gun sales for people on terrorism watch lists.

Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for the Nov. 8 presidential election, has said he shares the goal of keeping guns out of the hands of people on watch lists.

Trump said on Monday he was referring to security staff, not patrons, when he said that if more people had been armed in the nightclub, fewer would have died.

(Reporting by David Lawder in Washington and Roselle Chen in Orlando; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Bill Trott)

Boy’s body found after gator attack at Florida Disney resort

search boats at Disney World

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) – Police using boats, divers and a helicopter on Wednesday recovered the body of a 2-year-old boy who was grabbed by an alligator in front of his family during a vacation at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, officials said.

The child was snatched by the alligator as he played at the water’s edge on Tuesday night and dragged into a lagoon despite his parents’ effort to save him.

Officials told a news conference the boy’s body had been found and was intact.

The alligator was believed to be between 4 and 7 feet (1.2 and 2 meters) long. Wildlife officials earlier caught and killed five alligators from the lagoon to examine them for traces of the boy but found no evidence they were involved, said Nick Wiley, head of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The resort closed its beaches and recreational marinas on Wednesday as search teams had scoured the Seven Seas Lagoon, a man-made lake reaching 14 feet (4.2 meters) in depth.

The family, which was vacationing from Nebraska, was not named.

The dozens of sheriff’s deputies and wildlife officials searching for the boy on Wednesday, numbering as many as 60, had used sonar technology, helicopters and a team of divers.

There are signs prohibiting swimming at the lagoon but the boy was grabbed while his family relaxed nearby on the shore, authorities said.

The boy’s father rushed into the water and suffered minor cuts on his arm as he fought to wrestle his child from the alligator’s grasp, said Jeff Williamson, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

“The father did his best,” he said. “He tried to rescue the child, however, to no avail.”

Authorities said the boy’s mother tried to rescue him too. A lifeguard on duty also was unable to reach the toddler in time.

Alligators are not uncommon in the Seven Seas Lagoon, Wiley said. Alligators have killed five people in Florida in the last 10 years, according to official state data.

Wiley said the wildlife commission works with the resort to remove “nuisance alligators” – classed as those which have lost their fear of humans – whenever they are reported.

Disney has operated in the area for 45 years and never had this type of incident occur before, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings told a news conference.

“Disney has a wildlife management system that is in place and they have worked diligently to ensure that their guests are not unduly exposed to the wildlife here in this area,” he said.

The Walt Disney World Resort is the world’s most-visited theme park. About 20.5 million people visited the park’s Magic Kingdom in 2015, according to the Themed Entertainment Association.

(Additional reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee, Laila Kearney, Amy Tennery and Jeffrey Dastin in New York, and Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by W Simon, Bill Trott and Bill Rigby)