If you haven't heard by now, Philando Castile was driving with his girlfriend and her 4 year old daughter just outside of St. Paul, MN when they were pulled over by police. The reason? They were told they had a broken taillight. Now, from what I understand, when the officer got to the car it seemed like things were going pretty well. He explain why they were pulled over. Philando acknowledged that he understood and he revealed that he had a concealed handgun license. The officer then asked for his license and registration and as Castile moves in compliance, the cop yells and shoots Castile 4 times in the arm. During the chaos, the girlfriend/fiancé decided to do a live feed to document what has happened while continuing to comply with the officer's orders. All this happens with her 4 year old daughter in the back.
From what I gather from the video, the woman was shocked and scared and the officer was freaked out and upset. I feel he was very upset with himself because he knows he messed up. That kind of came evident with his yelling and saying over and over, "I told him to keep his hands up!" I think that not only was he yelling that to her he was trying to convince himself what he fell has happened, but he definitely knew reality. That's my opinion.
After learning about all this I became more saddened and eventually angry. Yes, I turned into an Angry Black Man. Now not like the stereotypical one who stares and yells all the time, just more subuded, yet the face shows the emotion at times.
One thing I know is after Sterling and Castile, after all of the officer shootings last year, and after the decades of racial profiling, I am absolutely scared!!! My wife is even more scared that her black husband could be pulled over and killed even when he is compliant. So I don't know how to be anymore. I now just drive or walk as carefully and as unsuspiciously as possible. It has become way to tricky now.
Below is the video of the aftermath. Take a look and derive your own opinion.
