Miami Officer Cleared in March Shooting of Man in Mental Health Crisis

An eight-page memo released Thursday by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office says the cop who shot a man having a mental health episode in March 2024 was not guilty because the use of force was necessary.

On March 7, 2024, Donald Armstrong was shot six times by cop Kassandra Mercado. His mother had called the police for help.

Video from Mercado’s body camera showed him firing at Armstrong, and officials said he had something on him that they think could have seriously hurt Armstrong.

Armstrong said, “It just, it just changed my life forever.” He now has bruises and pain that won’t go away.

Memo describes what the officer did and what information was looked at.

Prosecutors say they looked at witness statements, 911 records, and video from body cameras.

Ten police officers went to the scene. Seven of them had turned on their body cameras, but two did not. The person who fired the shots, Mercado, did not turn on hers.

Armstrong was seen on videotape holding what was later identified as a screwdriver-made metal weapon that he had made himself. He was told to drop it by police officers and was tased twice.

It also says that Armstrong said things like “shoot in the heart” and “I am God,” and that he swung his arms toward Mercado from a porch, which made her fire.

Armstrong speaks out, and his lawyer calls for change.

Armstrong showed anger in response to the choice.

“In the places I come from, people never expect justice.” In an interview with CBS News Miami, he said, “So it’s not a surprise.”

Larry Handfield, his lawyer, said that the way the case was handled was bad and that better steps should be taken in mental health emergencies.

“It’s like we put money into the police to make them better at their jobs and protect and serve the people.” Handfield said, “We need to make sure that when there is a call for a mental health crisis, the right people are trying to get there.”

A lawsuit is planned, but the cops haven’t responded.

Armstrong’s mom has since died. Handfield said that the lawsuit against the department is still going ahead.

There was no answer from the City of Miami Police Department when we Miami asked about Mercado’s job and whether she had been cleared.

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