Spencer Baxter | CJ-1010Reflective Writing

The controversial event that I chose to research is the shooting of Philando Castile by

police officer, Jeronimo Yanez, on July 6, 2016. To sum up what reportedly happened, Castile

was pulled over for a broken tail-light with his girlfriend and her young daughter in the car. After

talking to the officer, he explained that he had a license to carry and reached for his wallet. The

officer told him to stop and then without warning shot off seven rounds. After researching

different accounts of this story, I have concluded that Castile was innocent, and Yanez, though

maybe not in his right mind, committed murder. In the following analysis I will examine the

authenticity and validity of my sources, explain my reasoning and thought-process surrounding

this case, and demonstrate the reasons why this was manslaughter.

In my research, I found countless news stories, YouTube videos, and social media posts

surrounding this shooting. But none were so convincing or illuminating as the one shot by

Diamond Reynolds, the girlfriend of Philando Castile, from inside the car immediately following

the shooting. She recorded the whole thing, including her getting on the ground and being

handcuffed while her daughter cries in the background. This source shows the mental instability

of the officer as he repeatedly screams that he said put it down, even though there was never

any weapon drawn. It also shows Reynolds in complete shock. She speaks as if she is unsure of

what just happened because it was so bewildering. This video was shared nation-wide and caused

many heartbroken people to protest. I believe this video is a valid source because no one was

even aware that Reynolds was filming the video at the time, and the blood covering Castile as he

loses consciousness, fighting for his life, saying that he wasnt reaching for his gun, and then the

officer appearing unstable, and the way the situation was handled all appeared too authentic to be

made up. In an account from the New York Times, Ramsey County attorney, John J. Choi, is
quoted saying, his dying words were in protest that he wasnt reaching for his gun (Capecchi &

Smith. 2016). Thanks to the narrative the video provided, most news stories seem to be on the

same page and tell the same story. Usually in these cases, there is much less evidence proving

what actually happened. There were some articles that believed the story was twisted by the live

video, but these articles give no definitive reasons why the story is not authentic. With how

influencing the media can be, it is hard to know what sources are trusted or not. With a video that

was streamed live and not edited and posted later, it is kind of difficult to conceal what

happened, so with this particular case, the main-stream media seems to back-up Reynolds video

narrative. In the New York Times piece they mention evidence found by the paramedics that

Castiles gun was deep in his pocket with no round in the chamber. There was no way he could

have moved fast enough to draw it out (Capecchi & Smith. 2016). Because the information

obtained from this article is from live video, the county attorney, investigators, and the on-scene

paramedics, it appears to be a true depiction of what actually happened.

Many assumptions can be made when it comes to issues that are so emotionally charged,

such as the assumption that the officer was a cold blooded killer or a racist. In reality, he was just

scared and felt threatened. When I first took a look at this case, I assumed that the officer had no

reason to shoot, when later I found out that although Castile was told he was pulled over for a

tail-light, the officer actually pulled him over because he had a similar nose to a robbery suspect.

While I understand that this may have put officer Yanez on edge, it still was not a good reason to

shoot, but at least made a little more sense. My gut feelings and reaction to this story were

emotional because you could see what was happening and how out of control everyone involved

felt, but after getting past that, it was clear that from the evidence and facts, this was a murder. It

also seems unlikely that an officer in their right mind would shoot at an unarmed man with a four
year old in the backseat. From experience with traumatic situations, I understand why the officer

panicked, but the excessive seven rounds that were fired, just make it seem like he wasnt ready

to handle situations like this one.

Through combining reported facts, evidence, and my own intuition, it is difficult to see

the opposing side of this case. Castile did not even have to alert the officer that he had a weapon

on him, but was openly honest. He probably feared that hed be in more trouble later if they

found it by searching him. The fact that he had to defend himself against potential risk like that is

another sign that he felt discriminated against from the beginning. Others have commented

asking why Reynolds was so calm while filming the video, but it is obvious from her robotic

responses that she not only felt threatened but was probably trying to protect her daughter by

forcing herself to remain calm and polite as her boyfriend died in front of her and her daughter. It

seems that her reaction was a perfect one of self-preservation and awareness of the very real

danger she was facing. I believe that I asked myself questions on both sides of the case and still

came up with the same answer: Castile was murdered.

Controversies like these can become so polluted and twisted that it is really hard to tell

who is to blame. I think it is important to look at the psychology on both sides of an issue to

really understand what might have happened. In this case, I completely understand the officers

thought process as this event unfolded, but completely disagree with his actions. I also

understand Reynolds reaction and think that she did the best thing she could to help spread

awareness of incidents like this. The most important conclusion (aside from the judicial one) that

I came to was that this situation was escalated by an abundance of fear, lack of understanding,

and lack of communication. Educating officers in these ways could help them respond in more

positive ways that could actually help to build up our communities.

Bibliography:

Capecchi, Christina. Smith, Mitch. Officer Who Shot Philando Castile Is Charged With
Manslaughter. New York Times. www.nytimes.com. 16 Nov, 2016.
Collected from: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/17/us/philando-castile-shooting-
minnesota.html?_r=0

Philando Castile Shot And Killed In Front Of Girlfriend. YouTube, uploaded by The Young
Turks, 7 July, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxyQtvv_1i8