Footage of Philando Castile’s fatal traffic stop released
People have already been visually upset since Officer Jeronimo Yanez was found not guilty in murdering Philando Castile last July. The intensity of that anger likely only increased when dashcam footage of the fatal traffic stop was made viewable to the public.
A 10-minute video has been released by Ramsey County and shows just how rapid the conversation escalated and Yanez decided to use deadly force. Worse yet, the recording captured Castile telling Yanez he was armed and then telling him he wasn’t reaching for his weapon.
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“Okay, don’t reach for it, then,” said Yanez. Yanez then told him not to reach for his weapon, to which Castile said, “I’m not pulling it out.” Danielle Reynolds, Castile’s girlfriend, also said, “He’s not pulling it out.” Yanez suddenly screamed “Don’t pull it out!,” pulled out his own firearm and opened fire.
A breakdown of the video by the Star Tribune shows that Yanez approached the car at 9:05 p.m. A minute later, he’d fired seven shots despite Castile letting him know he was armed and denying that he was going for his weapon.
Three seconds later, Castile shares his last words, “I wasn’t reaching for it.”
A lot of what was seen was already made public, after Reynolds live-streamed Castile’s last moments. But seeing the incident from beginning to end offers new light. It also makes one wonder what the jury would’ve needed to see to get a conviction.