Philando Castile was shot and killed by police after a traffic stop in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, managed to go LIVE on Facebook to capture the aftermath of the shooting. She alleges that they were stopped for a broken tail light. And, that Castile was shot when he was reaching for his wallet after being asked to provide ID.
Castile, a licensed gun owner with a permit to carry, was careful to inform the officers that he was armed. But, obviously, his warning didn’t help as he still managed to lose his life without even as much as posing a direct threat to the officers involved. Local CBS affiliate WCCO reports that per Castile’s mother, Philando later died at the hospital.
WCCO reports:
WCCO confirms that a 32-year-old man has died after an officer-involved shooting Wednesday night in Falcon Heights.
Philando Castile’s mother, Valerie Castile, says he died at Hennepin County Medical Center.
St. Anthony Police confirmed that two officer were involved in the shooting, which happened in the area of Larpenteur Avenue and Fry Street. Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and her daughter were in the car at the time. Reynolds is in custody Wednesday night.
Castile’s death comes just one day removed from the police shooting of Alton Sterling by the Baton Rouge Police Department. At the time of writing this post, there’s no word of an independent investigation by the Department Of Justice (DOJ) as is the case with the shooting of Alton Sterling. As if Castile’s death isn’t tragic enough, adding insult to injury is the fact that he was shot in the presence of his 4-year-old daughter who was seated in the backseat..
Thanks to Facebook’s LIVE video feature, Reynolds was able to capture the immediate aftermath of the shooting. The video hs since been removed by Facebook. However, you can check out the LIVE recording below. Notice how the officer involved yells and screams at Castile, upon the realization that he was wrong after pumping four slugs into him.
Which, is really a shame because even while Castile was slumped over dying, he had to be treated as less than human before medical attention was rendered. This may not be a big deal because he’s Black. And, I’m sure that in the minds of many, this shooting could have been prevented if Castile did not have a gun. Well, what good is being a “good guy” with a permit to carry a gun, and you’re still taken out? I don’t know how this will turn out. However, something says that the officer involved will avoid criminal prosecution.
Watch video below: