Philando Castile, a 32-year-old black man, was killed by a police officer in Falcon Heights, Minnesota on Wednesday, July 6.
Diamond Reynolds, Castile’s fiancée, live streamed the aftermath of the shooting on her cell phone, explaining that the police officer shot her fiancée four times.
“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,” Reynolds said via the Facebook video.
Castile was pulled over for a broken taillight. He told the officer he had a concealed carry permit. After shooting Castile, the officer speaks to Reynolds, reminding her to keep her hands visible. The officer is heard as saying, “I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand off it”
Casitle’s death occurred one day after the killing of Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The video of his death shows police officers restraining and shooting Sterling. The incident sparked a national reaction.
President Barack Obama called the shooting deaths of Sterling and Castile “tragedies” He also stated that Americans should feel outrage at these incidents of police brutality because they are rooted in long-simmering racial discord.
Sgt. Jon Mangseth, interim chief of the St. Anthony police, said that two officers were present at the time of the shooting. These two officers have been identified as Officer Jeronimo Yanez and Officer Joseph Kauser. They have both been with the St. Anthony Police Department for four years and are currently on standard administrative leave.
“Officer Yanez approached the vehicle from the driver’s side and Officer Kauser from the passenger side. At one point during the interaction, Officer Yanez discharged his weapon, striking Castile multiple times,” as reported by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. According to office manager Kim Brazil, St. Anthony police do not have body cameras.
Although body camera footage is not available, Reynolds’ footage is useful in examining the events of the day. She maintained calm while explaining that the officer shot Castile four times, but later on in the video, Reynolds loses her composure. Her four-year-old daughter, who had been in the backseat when Castile was killed, said “It’s okay. I’m right here with you.” Reynolds cites her daughter as having been her lifeline in the situation. Reynolds live streamed the video with the intent of showing the true events as they happened.
“I wanted it to go viral so the people could see. I wanted everybody in the world to see what the police do.”