Ajabu Africa News

By:

Stacy M. Brown

Posted:

Jul,08-2016 13:01:04

It has become as common as breathing.

However, too many black men are no longer drawing breath after traffic stops, confrontations and other encounters with some police officers have gone tragically wrong.

The nation hadn't begun to exhale after the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, when anotherhorrific videosurfaced in St. Paul, Minnesota.

This time, the video showed the aftermath of police fatally shooting Philando Castile, a 32--year-old black man who worked as a supervisor in the cafeteria at a Montessori school in St. Paul.

Castile's fiancee, Diamond Reynolds, and her young daughter were also in the car, a fact that for some further underscores the outrage that has followed and the seemingly lack of regard for black lives by certain trigger-happy officers.

Castile's fiancee captured the incident on video and live--streamed it on Facebook. Within hours, millions had viewed it.

As the video circulated widely on social media, protesters gathered outside the governor's mansion in St. Paul early Thursday demanding accountability for the police officers involved, the New York Times reported.

The shooting occurred about 9 p.m. Wednesday in Falcon Heights, a town of about 5,500 north of St. Paul, when an officer with the St. Anthony Police Department--which is contracted to handle law enforcement in Falcon Heights--pulled over a car being driven by Castile.

The video begins after the shooting occurred and shows the bloodied man slumped against the woman who was recording it. Her young daughter sat in the back seat.

The footage was extraordinary in that the woman began by calmly narrating what was happening as she trained the camera on the man, whom she described as her boyfriend, and at least one officer who was pointing a gun through the driver's side window.

"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."

The woman's daughter, who was in the back seat, 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, she comforts her mother, saying, It's OK, Mommy. It's OK. I'm right here with you."

The video streamed live on a private Facebook account belonging to Lavish Reynolds, and the clip passed rapidly among Twitter, Facebook and YouTube users, becoming significant news online before traditional outlets--even those in the Minneapolis area -- caught up.

The police confirmed the shooting but did not release the names of the man or the officers involved, one of whom has been put on leave. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has been called to investigate, said Jon Mangseth, the interim chief of the St. Anthony police.

Family members demanded justice for Castile during an interview on CNN early Thursday.

Castile's uncle, Clarence Castile, said police officers who were meant to protect Americans had instead become "our executioners and judges and murderers."

When he watched the video, he said, "I saw a young man, shot, helpless--shot for no apparent reason. I saw my nephew shot by a man, clinging to his life with no help. It was the most horrific thing I have ever seen in my life."

Castile's mother, Valerie Castile, said she had taught her son to be extremely cautious when encountering members of law enforcement.

"If you get stopped by the police, comply," she said. "Comply, comply, comply.

"My son was a law--abiding citizen and he did nothing wrong," she said. "He's no thug."

She added, "I think he was just black in the wrong place."

In the video, the woman says that after being pulled over for a broken taillight, her boyfriend was shot several times while reaching for his license. She says that he had told officers before the shooting that he had a gun in the car.

In the background, one of the officers can be heard shouting: "I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hands up."

The video begins with images of the man, who appears to be moaning and moving slightly, his left arm and left side bloody. The woman then pans the camera to her face and says matter--of--factly, "They killed my boyfriend."

Looking into the camera, she says that the man had told officers that he was carrying a weapon--she says he was licensed to do so--and that he was reaching for his wallet when he was shot.

"And the officer just shot him in the arm," she says, adding, "He just shot his arm off."

When the officer tells the woman to keep her hands on the wheel, she replies: "I will, sir. No worries. I will."

Moments later, her voice shaking, the woman says: "Oh, my God, please don't tell me he's gone. Please don't tell me my boyfriend just went like that."

Then: "Please, Jesus, don't tell me that he's gone. Please, Officer, don't tell me that you just did this to him."

An officer issues an order "to get the female passenger out."

"Exit now," she is told, "and keep them up." She asks for her daughter.

The video was briefly removed from Facebook but was later restored with a graphic warning attached.

At one point, the video goes dark as the woman moves from the car to a police vehicle, although it continues to capture an audio feed as the woman prays for the man's life.

Chief Mangseth said the woman had been taken to the police department to be interviewed.

The Falcon Heights shooting occurred the same day that the Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of Sterling in Baton Rouge.

As in the Minnesota case, the encounter was captured in a searing video that was aired repeatedly on television and social media and reignited contentious issues surrounding police killings of African--Americans.

Sterling, 37, was killed early Tuesday as two white police officers responded to a call about an armed man. The officers had Sterling pinned to the ground when at least one of them shot him.

The video of the shooting propelled the case to national attention, like a string of recorded police shootings before it. The shooting prompted protests in the Louisiana capital, as well as a prayer vigil Wednesday.

Officials identified the officers as Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II. Both were placed on administrative leave.

After the Minnesota shooting, the terms #FalconHeightsShooting and #PhilandoCastile were trending on Twitter as news of the encounter spread.

By early Thursday, scores of protesters had streamed to the governor's mansion in St. Paul, demanding action from Gov. Mark Dayton. Videos posted on Twitter showed people shouting "Wake up" and "No justice, no peace; prosecute the police.'

It was unclear whether Dayton was inside the residence. A message left with the governor's spokesman was not immediately returned.

Steve Linders, a spokesman for the St. Paul police, said the crowd had dwindled to about 20 or so protesters by shortly after sunrise.

Source:

New America Media