One Hour Ago.... ( Another Black Man)

Trillfate wrote: »

https://twitter.com/tchop__StL/status/751389010723999744

"Outwardly negroid" features were the reason @ob

'This is bigger than Philando': family waits to speak to investigators about shooting

The family of Philando Castile, the 32-year-old fatally shot by Minnesota police this week, said on Friday that investigators had not yet spoken with them about his death, while the county prosecutor vowed to prosecute the case “to the fullest extent of the law”, if charges are warranted.

Speaking in an interview with CNN, Diamond Reynolds, Castile’s girlfriend, said she wanted justice in the case. But, she said: “Today is not only about justice, and getting justice ... it’s about all the families who have lost people.”

When asked about the overnight shooting spree in Dallas, which left five police officers dead and several wounded, Reynolds – whose shocking live video of Castile’s last moments was shared across the US – said her boyfriend’s death represented a larger, widespread problem.

“This thing that has happened in Dallas, it was not because of something that transpired in Minnesota today,” she said. “This is bigger than Philando … this is bigger than all of us.”

Castile’s mother, Valerie, told CNN there would be peaceful protests in Minnesota, before returning to the loss of her son.

“My son died just the other day and I haven’t had sleep in almost 48 hours,” she said.

The pair said they had not heard from investigators about the shooting and had difficulty with officials when trying to make arrangements for viewing his body until Friday.

“I have not been in contact with investigators,” Castile said. “No one has reached out to me.”

Reynolds added that she was struggling to grieve, something compounded by the fact her daughter was set to graduate from pre-school on Friday.

“I’m tired,” she said. “My daughter, I’m just trying to keep her strong, and encourage her and constantly keep praying for justice.”

The family’s remarks followed a steady stream of protests on Thursday through St Paul, Minnesota, where Castile was killed after a traffic stop on Wednesday.

Earlier on Friday, tensions flared after about 100 protesters and police officers squared off during a march. But Mica Grimm, an organizer of Black Lives Matter Minneapolis, said there was “a whole different tension going on” compared to Dallas.

Following a vigil on Thursday at the school where Castile worked, Grimm said a smaller group of roughly two dozen people broke away in the evening , and began marching to Larpenteur Avenue and Fry Street, the intersection in nearby Falcon Heights about five miles away where Castile was killed.

The group moved along a light-rail route, disrupting traffic and at one point halting transit service. Grimm said the crowd swelled to about 200 people along the way to the scene of Castile’s death.

When the group made the return trip, she said “there was a small group that was upset”.

At one point, she said, someone smashed a window of a police cruiser, and, along Grand Avenue, storefront windows were broken by rocks. Police then quickly assembled.

Protesters formed a line and linked arms in an effort to de-escalate the situation. “People started chanting, expressing how they felt about Black Lives Matter,” Grimm said.

The situation felt significantly heated, she added, given that the details of the killings of five police officers in Dallas were still coming out. “What happened in Dallas is going to change everything,” she said.

St Paul police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At a press conference on Friday, Ramsey county attorney John Choi said he had spoken with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension superintendent, Drew Evans, and added that both offices had been corresponding since Thursday morning.

“He has assured me that they are making this investigation a top priority,” Choi said. “I have asked for a prompt and thorough investigation. Both of these goals are equally important to uphold.”

Choi said it was common for his office to bring similar cases before a grand jury, but said he had not decided if the Castile shooting would be presented to one yet.

“I believe there are benefits to [a grand jury]. However, I will decide how best to proceed at a later time,” he said.

Minnesota law requires the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that an officer’s use of force wasn’t justified, he continued. “The use of deadly force is justified only when necessary to protect the officer, or another, from apparent death or great ? harm,” he said.

But if charges were brought by a grand jury or his office, Choi said the case would be vigorously prosecuted.

“[If] charges are warranted in this case … I assure you that we will prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law,” he said.

Even before the chaos that engulfed Dallas on Thursday, the US had had a tumultuous week. On Tuesday, a Louisiana man, Alton Sterling, was shot and killed by police officers.

Then, on Wednesday, came the fatal shooting of Castile. He had been visiting his hometown of St Louis, Missouri, over the weekend for a family reunion and had only been home for a day before he was killed in a suburb of St Paul.

stringer bell wrote: »

http://nashvillepublicradio.org/post/nashville-officer-decommissioned-over-comments-minnesota-police-shooting#stream/0

Nashville Officer Decommissioned Over Comments On Minnesota Police Shooting

Metro Police Chief Steve Anderson has decommissioned an officer from the Hermitage Precinct after a Facebook post regarding the shooting of Philando Castile in Minnesota.

Officer Anthony Venable made the post on his personal account Thursday afternoon. In an online discussion of the shooting, Venable made the comment “Yeah. I would have done 5.”

This is an apparent reference to the number of shots fired by the officer in the Minnesota case.

Venable claims he was being sarcastic.

Chief Anderson says the department is treating the matter “very seriously” and decided to take action “regardless” of the original intent.

Venable has been with the police department for eight years and currently works the midnight shift.

I'm sure this will get zero media attention...

Cop on Apparent Police Scanner Audio Said Philando Castile Looked Like a Robbery Suspect "'Cause of the Wide-Set Nose"

The local NBC affiliate KARE has a recording of what seems to be police scanner audio from the moments before St. Anthony police officers stopped Philando Castile on Wednesday. “The two occupants just look like people who have been involved in a robbery,” a man can be heard saying on the tape. “The driver looked more like one of our suspects, just ‘cause of the wide-set nose.”

KARE notes that it has not been able to independently verify the authenticity of the tape, but that a license plate number mentioned matches Castile’s car, and that the locations mentioned correspond to the stop as well. Shortly after the officers pulled Castile over, Officer Jeronimo Yanez shot him and killed him, apparently as he reached for his wallet. The audio is below, followed by a transcript. (KARE redacted Castile’s plate number.)


Officer: I’m going to stop a car...I’m going to check IDs. I have reason to pull it over.

The two occupants just look like people who have been involved in a robbery. The driver looked more like one of our suspects, just ‘cause of the wide-set nose.

A minute and a half later on the recording, according to KARE, an officer frantically calls dispatch, mentioning shots fired.

Officer: Shots fired, Larpenteur and Fry.

Dispatch: Copy. You just heard it? You just heard the shots fired?

Officer: Code 3! Shots fired.

Dispatch: Copy. Shots fired, Larpenteur and Fry. Do you need medics?

Officer: Code 3!

Dispatch: Copy. Medics, Code 3 to Larpenteur and Fry.

Officer: One adult female taken into custody. Driver at gunpoint.

The stop that precipitated Castile’s death was far from the first time police pulled him over. According to NBC News reporter Tom Winter, he’d been stopped 31 times for traffic violations since 2002.

aneed123 wrote: »

Lurkristocrat wrote: »

aneed123 wrote: »

powface wrote: »

Almost every day now...how long will the innocent civilians stand by and be victimized by those that swore an oath to protect them?

In my opinion a broken tail light does not warrant pulling someone over and running their information, the police could have easily just drove next to him and mentioned it. The sad reality this is just a pathetic ploy for the State to collect revenue from the citizens. When is the last time you went to traffic court? ? sickening.

Man I just got hit with a super speeder ticket by a ? ass cop who was pulling over people for the hell of it. at court the ticket is $700 with the only option to go to drivers class which$ $120 and $500 for the option. If u take it to court u are automatically put on probation. ? is crazy... ? pulled me over ? I had my dorag on and I made eye contact with him while driving.Talked to a Asian chick in line behind me and he pulled her over 7 min after me with the same ? . The whole system is ? and ? up.

Needed a haircut. It laid my hair down... come on b u know what that is

BCA: Squad video in Castile case won't be released yet

Squad car video of the Philando Castile incident is in the hands of state investigators, but they have refused to release it to the public.

Jill Oliveira, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), on Friday called the video “investigative data” and therefore not public until the inquiry is complete.

The Star Tribune requested the video under Minnesota’s Data Practices Act, which states that certain data about a police response or incident remain public, even if part of an active investigation.

Stacie Christensen, director of a Minnesota agency that interprets the state’s public records law, said the BCA “may be right” in its decision. When public and nonpublic data that are part of an active investigation are so inextricably intertwined that a government agency can’t redact the nonpublic portions, the entire document can be withheld, Christensen said. She cited a 1993 decision by the Court of Appeals.

Not everyone agrees.

“How does she know it’s inextricably intertwined?” said Don Gemberling, spokesman for the Minnesota Coalition on Government Information.

Gemberling, a retired lawyer who helped draft the law enforcement section of Minnesota’s public records law, said the video should be made public.

“I think what the statue is saying is that when these things happen, certain basic elements of data about the situation are always public,” Gemberling said. That’s true whether it’s a document or a video, he said.

Gemberling acknowledged that an agency is “on pretty safe ground to withhold the video” if it provides the information in another form, such as a copy of the police incident report.

As of Friday evening, the city still had not provided an incident report. St. Anthony City Attorney Jay Lindgren said the city plans to release basic information about the police response, as well as some personnel data.

“Given the volume of requests coming in, we cannot provide you with an estimate of when this process will be completed,” Lindgren told the Star Tribune via e-mail Friday.

St. Anthony officers who made traffic stop are longtime friends, former classmates

Their names are still enshrined at their alma mater as Baton of Honor winners.

The faculty at Minnesota State University, Mankato’s law enforcement program chose Jeronimo Yanez and Joseph Kauser from about 500 students as the best in their class — an award given to promising future cops for their smarts, respect and leadership qualities.

The longtime classmates and friends-turned-colleagues graduated together in 2010. Two years later, both wore the gun and badge for the St. Anthony Police Department — their first jobs in law enforcement.

They were on duty together Wednesday evening when they pulled over Philando Castile, his passenger, Diamond Reynolds, and her 4-year-old daughter in a traffic stop. The encounter would spark grief and outrage across the world after Yanez shot Castile four times as he sat in the driver’s seat — the aftermath broadcast on Facebook by Reynolds.

The officers, whose names were released Thursday by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), remain on paid administrative leave while the shooting is under investigation. Neither officer could be reached by telephone or in person. But Yanez’s attorney, Thomas Kelly, said his client is cooperating with the investigation and remains distraught by the shooting.

“He’s very upset about this terrible tragedy,” Kelly said Friday. “He’s very saddened about the loss to Philando’s family and recognizes the tragedy of the whole event.”

Kelly wouldn’t discuss details about the night Castile was shot, only saying Yanez reacted to the actions of the driver. He added that Yanez has not been subject to disciplinary actions during his time with the St. Anthony police department.

He described Yanez, 28, as a kind man who gives generously of his time to the St. Anthony community. He said Yanez is Latino and described his participation in activities such as Cinco de Mayo parades.

Police officers are now on watch at Yanez’s home.

“This has all been very impactful on his life,” he said.

According to the BCA, Yanez approached Castile’s vehicle from the driver’s side; Kauser, 31, approached from the passenger side.

In a live Facebook video, Reynolds described what happened next: “He [Castile] told him he was licensed to carry and that he had his gun on him and then he started shooting. He started shooting for no reason.”

“I told him not to reach for it, I told him to get his hand off it!” a clearly panicked Yanez screams, only his arm and hand visible as he keeps the gun trained on a dying Castile.

“You told him to get his ID, sir, his driver’s license,” Reynolds replied.

Yanez, still pointing the gun, said nothing.

Castile died as a result of the gunshot wounds.

Yanez and Kauser, two of the best students in their class, their lives tied together since college, now face national scrutiny.

Long before the shooting, they were expected to shine in their profession. Side-by-side photos in a 2010 newsletter show Yanez and Kauser grinning in their graduation robes next to their instructor, a red, white and blue cord around their necks signifying the Baton of Honor.

To Paige Burke, a classmate and fellow Baton of Honor winner, both Yanez and Kauser were model students and “leaders of their class.” She remembers them excelling in the classroom, attending all of the extracurricular training, and being the first whom professors would seek out with any leadership opportunities.

The former chairman of the department, Jeff Bumgarner, remembers the same things when he taught the two.

“They reflected and embodied what we looked for,” he said.

He particularly remembers Yanez as someone who didn’t come from privilege, “a very nice, a sensible guy who got into law enforcement for the right reasons.”

“He was very interested in serving the community,” he said.

The two went through courses like Tactical Communication — in which officers learn what to do during a traffic stop. The protocol varies from department to department on how to approach drivers holding a permit to carry a firearm.

Under state law, drivers are not obligated to tell an officer they are armed unless asked. But, “Never let them actually grab [the gun] to show it,” said their instructor, Christian Dobratz.

In 2011, the mayor of St. Anthony swore Yanez in at the department. Kauser followed in 2013. In annual reports the department hailed Yanez for meeting with community members to teach bike safety, giving a tour to Cub Scouts and annually standing guard at the Law Enforcement Memorial Monument in front of the State Capitol.

Yanez lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and child. Both are members of a Catholic church. Neither officer has faced any lawsuits, court records show. Kauser does not appear to have received any citations. Yanez has received two, both in 2014, for violating snow emergency parking restrictions and for what appears to be missing license plates or tabs.

The city of St. Anthony is in the process of providing public data about their personnel records, its attorney told the Star Tribune.

What’s clear is that the two have never been involved in a confrontation like the one Wednesday night. The department’s interim chief said Wednesday night that there hadn’t been an officer-involved shooting in the department for 30 years.