Former Westport Resident and Staples Grad - Now a North Miami Cop - ID'd as Shooter of Unarmed Man

WESTPORT, CT — Staples High School graduate Jonathan Aledda, 30, a four-year veteran of the North Miami Police Department, reportedly was the shooter of Charles Kinsey, an unarmed black man who was trying to help an autistic boy earlier this month.

Aledda has been placed on administrative leave while police conduct an investigation into the July 18 shooting, writes the Washington Post. A second officer also has been placed on leave without pay for allegedly giving false statements in connection with the investigation.

The Dade County Police Benevolent Association, the union representing Aledda, has come out defending the officer, a member of the department's Special Weapons and Tactics unit, stating that he was not aiming for Kinsey when he shot and injured him, reports the Miami Herald.

Aledda was a 2004 graduate of the Westport-based high school, and he is remembered by his football coach, Marce Petroccio, as a focused player and "good kid," according to the Westport News.

In his local blog "06880," columnist and Staples High School soccer coach Dan Woog adds that Aledda also ran track as a hurdler.