Never-before-seen footage of the moment Philando Castile was shot to death by police officer Jeronimo Yaez taken from the cop’s dash cam has been released.
Within 40-seconds of their encounter, Officer Yaez opened fire.
via Washington Post:
When the traffic stop began, the two men interacted calmly. Officer Jeronimo Yanez, a police officer in the Twin Cities suburbs, greeted Castile and examined his insurance card.
“Sir, I have to tell you that I do have a firearm on me,” Castile said 30 seconds after they began speaking.
“Okay,” Yanez interrupted, his voice remaining steady as he shifted his right hand onto the holster of his gun.
Yanez told Castile not to reach for the gun or pull it out. Castile said he was not, which was echoed by Diamond Reynolds, his girlfriend, sitting in the Oldsmobile’s passenger seat.
“I’m not pulling it out,” Castile responded. Yanez again yelled: “Don’t pull it out!” He then unholstered his gun and pushed it into the car.
“Don’t pull it out!” Yanez yelled. “I’m not!” Castile said as Yanez, seven seconds after being informed of the gun, began firing into the car.
The moments after quickly made their way around the world, as Reynolds began streaming live on Facebook, pleading with Castile to “stay with me” while blood soaked into his T-shirt. Castile died not long after. Spurred by Reynolds’s video, that fatal shooting in July 2016 became part of the country’s roiling debate about how police officers use deadly force.
This video exists and a jury STILL managed to acquit Yanez of manslaughter.
