[Falcon Heights] Woman goes live on Facebook after boyfriend is shot by police

This may have turned out totally different had Yanez instructed Castille to remove his hands from his pocket or put his hands on the wheel - rather than the ambiguous instruction to not pull out or reach for a gun.

 

I didn't watch the video. He pulled out the gun?

 

No.

By the officer's reaction this will haunt him to the core for the rest of his life - and that poor little girl what terror she must have felt.

 

No, he reached for it

 

It is confirmed that he reached for the gun and not something else (e.g. a gun permit) in the video?

 

The jumpy cop should've been convicted with manslaughter. Castile willingly notifying the officer of his CHL should've dispelled the threat of violence, even though he was pulled over as a suspect in an armed robbery. If he truly was a criminal, why would he tell the officer that he was armed, giving up the element of surprise? It's upsetting that the family didn't receive legal justice.

 

What is the legal threshold for manslaughter? Clearly the officer overreacted and because he didn't perform his job properly someone died. Is that enough for him to be guilty of a crime?

 

No. Why would you give RussianLegend's posts credibility?

 

Please. The dude smoked mar1juana. Like the cop said, anyone who is willing to smoke mar1juana...who knows what a monster like that is capable of!

 

No, he tells the officer he isn't reaching for "it" and so does the girlfriend.

The officer saying "don't pull it out" is farking stupid. The guy is saying "I'm not" but he's still reaching for his wallet to give the id to the cop as previously requested. The cop should have said "put both hands on the steering wheel."

Problems arose because the black driver didn't realize that his wide nostrils made him a suspect in a crime so he wasn't aware this was more than a traffic stop. Also that the cop seemed to believe that a pot smoker was inherently a threat to kill him.

 

Also, we could probably save a lot of arthritic fingers time by creating a clutchfans flow chart listing posters positions ahead of time.

Cop shoots black man? Doesn't matter what else comes out beyond that, there are about 10 posters here that are 100% going to take the same side in every one of these threads no matter what.

 

@RocketsLegend, any response to this description of what happened?

 

Why not? It's a simple question. If someone's credibility is in doubt, I'd probably avoid getting into lengthy discussions with them, but here his assertion is simple and straightforward, as is my question.

 

Just to be clear on my position, if a cop is shouting at me I'm going to put my damn hands on the steering wheel. I don't care that he asked for the license, I'm grabbing the wheel and asking for further instruction.

They both made poor choices, unfortunately one of them died. It is alarming to me though that the smell of mar1juana was enough to convince the cop that this man was "capable of anything." The cop was predisposed to thinking he was in danger because he thought the man was just the right kind of black to potentially have been involved in a robbery and he was a devilish pot smoker. It's odd that the cop was so convinced this man was dangerous despite him telling the cop of his weapon. Mr. "capable of anything" was apparently nice enough to warn the cop about the gun he was about to pull out calmly and shoot him with.

Reality is that if the guy had been white and smoking cigarettes the cop would not have been so jumpy and this would have ended just fine.

 

I am coming in late, and having only seen the dashboard film coupled with the stream from the woman's cellphone. So don't know what movement the shooting victim did that got him shot 7 times by the police officer. (added) From what the woman and even the victim seemed to say, he was getting his papers. The police officer seemed to suggest the hand motion was wide suggesting he was gripping a pistol (if I am describing the police officer's statement correctly).

A concern... if any motion by the victim could set off a nervous officer to start shooting. I know some would say "don't move at all" but I also wonder if a natural reaction would be to place the hands on the steering wheel, and if an officer might start shooting in reaction to that (or any) movement.

 

He has been on record lying multiple times , his goal is just to push an agenda. Everybody else here knows that.

 

Some people should not be police officers.

 

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you aren't actively trying to spin things, but the reason the cop pulled him over in the first place is because he thought he might have been an armed robbery suspect in a case that he personally responded to. Castile was the same race, roughly the same age, roughly the same size, had the same hairstyle, and the officer believed that he had a similar shaped nose. That's a bit more than going on just the smell of mar1juana and "the right kind of black". I'm sure you realize that.

There was plenty reason for the officer to be more alert than normal to any potential dangers. In that scenario, Castile being armed and not complying with police commands is a legal justification for his actions. You can find numerous traffic stops that look very similar to this one where the officer ends up shot by the driver. It's a dangerous situation which is why if you want to carry a gun, you better be up to the added responsibilities that come with it. Castile wasn't and it cost him his life.

 

I'm quoting the officer. He said he figured the man was capable of anything because of the mar1juana. The officer specifically cited the mar1juana as a reason he feared for his life because he was willing to expose a child to second hand smoke lol. Basically if you believe this officer then anyone who smokes cigarettes should be seen as a threat by cops lol

 

That's taking one factor out of context and ignoring the rest. In the mind of the officer, he's potentially dealing with an armed robber who is high and armed. That's a reason to be on alert.