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Philando Castile Shooting in Minnesota Leads Governor to Seek U.S. Investigation

July 7, 2016

Minnesota’s governor called on Thursday for a federal investigation into the shooting of a black man by a police officer during a traffic stop near St. Paul, after millions of people watched the bloody, dying man in a grisly video recorded by his girlfriend and streamed live moments after the shooting. The deadly encounter Wednesday night in the city of Falcon Heights was at least the second shooting this week of a black man by police officers, after the killing of a man in Baton Rouge during an attempted arrest, and parts of both encounters were recorded on video. The graphic video from Minnesota showed Philando Castile, 32, who had been shot several times, slumping against the woman who was recording the scene. As she did so, her 4-year-old daughter sat in the back seat and an officer stood just outside the driver’s side window, still aiming his gun at the mortally wounded man at point-blank range. The video is all the more shocking for the calm, clear narration of the woman, Lavish Reynolds, who states that Mr. Castile had done nothing wrong, and the fact that she streamed it live on Facebook. Ms. Reynolds gave her account of what had happened, stating again and again that Mr. Castile had just been reaching for his driver’s license and registration — as the officer had requested — when the officer opened fire.

“Please, officer, don’t tell me that you just did this to him,” she said. “You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir.”

Ms. Reynolds’s daughter appears several times in the video. Near the end of the 10-minute clip, as the two are sitting in the back of a police car, and Ms. Reynolds becomes increasingly distraught, the girl comforts her mother. “It’s O.K., Mommy,” she says. “It’s O.K. I’m right here with you.” As the video circulated widely on social media, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the governor’s mansion in St. Paul during the night and Thursday morning, demanding accountability for the officers involved. Some voiced anger that Gov. Mark Dayton did not respond faster, but late Thursday morning, the governor emerged to speak with protesters. Rumors circulated on social media that he had been evacuated from the mansion during the night, but the governor’s office said that was not the case.

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SOURCE = The New York Times

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Falcon heights shooting: Police killing of second black man in two days sparks outrage

July 7, 2016

The shooting of a second black man in just two days by police has sparked outrage across the US. Philando Castile was shot dead in his car in front of his girlfriend and child in Falcon Heights, a suburb of St Paul, Minnesota. His girlfriend, Lavish Reynolds, recorded the man slowly bleeding to death as the officer continued to point his firearm into the car on Facebook Live. She said they had been pulled over for a broken tail light and the 32-year-old was shot as he reached for his wallet. Mr Castile later died in hospital. Ms Reynolds described the scene repeatedly throughout the video: “He told him that it was in his wallet, but he had a pistol on him because he’s licensed to carry. The officer said don’t move.

“As he was putting his hands back up, the officer shot him in the arm four or five times”.

The officer is heard yelling “I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out.” The 10-minute video shows Ms Reynolds being arrested and put into the back of a police car along with her four-year-old daughter. It is believed she is still in custody at the time of writing. It comes just a day after the killings of Alton Sterling, 37, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Mr Sterling was shot in the chest and the back by police officers while selling CDs outside a supermarket. Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr claimed both officers’ body cameras fell off during the incident. Witnesses report police officers acted aggressively and Mr Sterling, although armed, did not get his gun out.

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SOURCE = The Independent

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Woman streams aftermath of fatal officer-involved shooting

July 7, 2016

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Philando Castile Shooting in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, Sparks Protests

July 7, 2016

Protests erupted in Minnesota overnight after a man was fatally shot by police during a traffic stop in front of his girlfriend and a child. The aftermath of Philando Castile’s shooting in Falcon Heights was apparently captured in graphic detail on Facebook video. Angry crowds gathered outside the governor’s mansion as news spread about the death. Castile, 32, was a kitchen supervisor for the St. Paul school district. His was the second officer-involved shooting of a black man to spark protests in just two days, following the death of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The St. Anthony Police Department confirmed a man was fatally shot during a traffic stop Wednesday night, saying that a handgun was recovered from the scene and that the officer involved has been placed on paid administrative leave.

The department added that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will lead an investigation. Congresswoman Betty McCollum, whose district covers Falcon Heights, also called for a federal investigation into the shooting to “provide all Minnesotans with a clear understanding of the facts surrounding this incident and ensure accountability appropriate to those facts.” The Justice Department said Thursday that it was aware of the incident and was “assessing the situation.” A woman and her young child were in the car at the time but were unharmed, the department told NBC affiliate KARE11. Police did not identify the victim but his family named him as Philando Castile.

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SOURCE = NBC News

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Philando Castile death: Aftermath of police shooting streamed live

July 7, 2016

A black man has been shot dead by police in the US state of Minnesota as protests continued over the police killing of a black man in Louisiana. Philando Castile’s girlfriend live-streamed the St Paul incident’s aftermath, showing him covered in blood as an officer pointed his gun at him. He was shot as he reached for his driving licence, she said. It follows the death of Alton Sterling, who was shot dead by police during an incident in Baton Rouge on Tuesday. Hundreds of people have protested for two nights over Mr Sterling’s killing. The deaths follow a long line of high-profile incidents involving African-Americans at the hands of the police, igniting a national debate about the use of lethal force. As news of the latest shooting spread, about 200 people protested outside the St Paul home of Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, who later requested a federal investigation into the shooting.

He said he had been in contact with the office of President Barack Obama who was “shocked and concerned” at the situation. Black US tennis player Serena Williams, who is playing at the Wimbledon tournament, also expressed her dismay at news of Mr Castile’s death, tweeting: “In London I have to wake up to this. He was black. Shot 4 times? When will something be done – no REALLY be done?! Mr Castile had been stopped in Falcon Heights, a suburb of St Paul, because the car had a broken rear light, the woman, identified in local media reports as Diamond Reynolds (or sometimes as Lavish Reynolds) said. Before he was shot, he told the officer that he was licensed to carry a concealed gun and had one in his possession, she said. “You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his licence and registration, sir,” Ms Reynolds says in the video.

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SOURCE = BBC News

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Minn. cop fatally shoots black man during traffic stop, aftermath broadcast on Facebook

July 7, 2016

A Minnesota traffic stop turned deadly Wednesday evening when a police officer opened fire on a black driver and killed him — less than 48 hours after another fatal police shooting in Louisiana. The confrontation’s bloody aftermath was broadcast live on Facebook by a female passenger in the car. “He killed my boyfriend,” Diamond “Lavish” Reynolds said in the video posted on her Facebook page. Philando Castile, 32, died at a Minneapolis hospital, a family member told The Washington Post. As outrage mounted Thursday over Castile’s death, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton (D) said that he has asked the White House for a federal investigation into the shooting. In a statement, Dayton said he spoke with Denis McDonough, the White House chief of staff, to ask that the Justice Department look into the shooting.

FBI Director James B. Comey, testifying before Congress on Thursday, said he was briefed on the shooting and added that he “would expect we’ll be involved.” The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the state agency investigating the shooting, said it was conducting initial interviews with witnesses as well as the officer. Officials on Thursday did not release the identity of the officer who fired the fatal shots in the encounter with Castile. As blood soaked through Castile’s shirt Wednesday night, Reynolds said on camera that her boyfriend was legally licensed to carry a firearm and was reaching for his identification when the officer started to shoot. “He let the officer know that he had a firearm and he was reaching for his wallet and the officer just shot him in his arm,” she said in a Facebook video viewed by millions.

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SOURCE = Washington Post

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Fatal shooting of black man Philando Castile by police during traffic stop in Minneapolis caught on video by girlfriend

July 7, 2016

Awoman broadcast the dying moments of her black boyfriend in real time on Facebook after he was repeatedly shot by a white police officer during a routine traffic stop in Minnesota. The shocking footage sparked outrage across America just a day after another fatal police shooting of a black man who was  selling CDs outside a supermarket in Louisiana. In Minnesota protests erupted outside the mansion of governor Mark Dayton, with hundreds of people chanting “No justice, no sleep,” and he had to be evacuated. Philando Castile, 32, the victim, was a school cafeteria supervisor, and was shot just after 9pm in the middle class suburb of Falcon Heights, St Paul. President Barack Obama was “deeply disturbed” by the shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana, the white House said.. Spokesman Josh Earnest said: “The division between local law organisations and many communities they are sworn to serve and protect does not have to be the new normal.”

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SOURCE = The Telegraph

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