POLICE HAVE RELEASED THE DASH CAM FOOTAGE FROM THE SHOOTING OF
PHILANDO CASTILE.
PHILANDO CASTILE WAS SHOT BY THE POLICE OFFICER, YANEZ.
HE WAS THE INDIVIDUAL WHO TOLD YANEZ THAT HE HAD A GUN IN THE
CAR, AND OF COURSE THAT LED TO A SHOOTING, AND THE POLICE OFFICER
WHO WAS INVOLVED IN THE SHOOTING WAS PHYSICALLY FOUND NOT
GUILTY BY A JURY, AND SO IT HAS BEEN A BIG STORY, BUT ONE THING
WE HAVE NEVER SEEN IS THAT ñ CAM FOOTAGE; WHAT REALLY HAPPENED?
IT SEEMED TO BE A LITTLE BIT OF HE SAID, SHE SAID SITUATION ñ OR
HE SAID, HE SAID SITUATION IN THIS SITUATION, BUT NOW WITH THE
VIDEO WE HAVE A CLEAR IDEA OF HOW THE SHOOTING WENT DOWN.
I WANT TO WARN YOU GUYS THAT IT IS DIFFICULT TO WATCH, IT IS
GRAPHIC, BUT WITH THAT SAID, I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO
SEE EVERYTHING THAT IS OUT THERE REGARDING THIS CASE, AND THEN
MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION AS TO WHAT YOU THINK.
TAKE A LOOK.
SIR, I HAVE TO TELL YOU, I DO HAVE A FIREARM ON ME.
DON'T REACH FOR IT.
DON'T PULL IT OUT.
DON'T PULL IT OUT!
OH MY GOD, YOU JUST KILLED MY BOYFRIEND.
DON'T PULL IT OUT!
DON'T MOVE!
FUCK!
OH MY GOD!
DON'T MOVE!
OH MY GOD!
OH MY GOD I'M SHAKING.
DON'T MOVE!
DON'T MOVE BABY.
DON'T MOVE BABE, PLEASE.
OKAY, SO, HERE'S WHAT THE VIDEO CLARIFIED FOR ME; I WAS UNDER
THE ASSUMPTION, AND BASED ON HOW THIS STORY WAS REPORTED,
MULTIPLE TIMES, THAT HE WAS ASKED FOR HIS ID, AND THAT'S
WHEN HE WAS REACHING FOR HIS ID, AND GOT SHOT THEN, BUT HE
HAD ACTUALLY GIVEN THE DOCUMENTATION TO THE COP
BEFORE THE SHOOTING HAPPENED.
SO, HE GIVES THE DOCUMENTATION TO THE COP, AND THEN CALMLY SAYS
ñ WHICH SEE IN THE VIDEO ñ I HAVE TO KNOW ñ I HAVE LET YOU
KNOW, I HAVE A FIREARM, AND HE SAYS DON'T REACH FOR IT, AND I
DON'T KNOW IF YOU HEARD IT, BUT AT THAT POINT HE SAYS
SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF, I'M NOT REACHING FOR IT,
AND THEN IMMEDIATELY THE SHOOTING HAPPENS.
YOU DON'T SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE CAR, OBVIOUSLY, I
JUST WANT PEOPLE TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED.
MY UNDERSTANDING, FROM READING THE TRIAL, IS THAT HE HANDED
OVER THE PROOF OF INSURANCE, AND HAD NOT YET HANDED OVER ID.
OH, I SEE.
HE HAD ALREADY HANDED OVER PROOF OF INSURANCE ñ I'M NOT, I MEAN,
COPS, IT'S A DANGEROUS ROB, BUT THEY HAD ALREADY BEGUN THE
PEACEFUL EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION WHEN YOU GET PULLED OVER BY
A COP.
HE HANDED OVER HIS PROOF OF INSURANCE, AND THEN I'M
GUESSING NOW, HAD TO REACH FOR HIS ID, WHAT HE THOUGHT,
I'M GOING TO TELL YOU THAT THERE IS A GUN IN THE CAR.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS THE SAME THING WHEN THE VERDICT CAME OUT
ON THURSDAY, HE JUST, HE DID EVERYTHING HE WAS SUPPOSED
TO DO.
I MEAN, WHEN YOU HEAR ABOUT BLACK MOTHERS, AND BLACK
FATHERS, TELLING THEIR KIDS HOW TO BEHAVE, YOU KNOW, IDA
RODRIGUEZ SAYS IT, SHE SCARED EVERY TIME HE GOES OUT, I'M
POINTING AT YOU KIM BECAUSE SHE WAS SITTING IN THAT SEAT ON
FRIDAY, SHE IS SCARED EVERY TIME, AND GIVES VERY
SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS OF WHAT HER KIDS ARE SUPPOSED TO DO.
SO, HE DID EVERYTHING RIGHT, AND THEN THOUGHT, I SHOULD MENTION ñ
IF ONLY ñ THERE'S NOTHING FUNNY ABOUT IT, IF PHILANDO CASTILLE
HAD NEVER SAID HE HAD A GUN IN THE CAR, AND JUST GOT HIS ID
OUT, HE WOULD STILL BE ALIVE TODAY, BUT HE THOUGHT THAT
WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO, BECAUSE MAYBE THE ID WAS
WHERE THE GUN WAS.
HOWEVER, IT COMES OUT.
HE DID EVERYTHING HE WAS SUPPOSED TO DO, EVERYTHING
HE IS SUPPOSED TO DO AND HE STILL ENDED UP GETTING KILLED.
WHY IS THAT THE FIRST MOVE?
TO JUST START SHOOTING.
ISN'T THERE ANOTHER METHOD YOU COULD HAVE USED?
IS THERE ONE OF SEVERAL OTHER METHODS YOU COULD'VE USED?
YEAH, SO, THAT IS A COMMON THEME THAT WOULD SEE WITH A LOT OF
THESE ñ THAT WE SEE WITH A LOT OF THESE STORIES, WHERE COPS
SEEM TO HAVE NONLETHAL WEAPONS AT THEIR DISPOSAL, AND FOR SOME
REASON THEY DON'T IMMEDIATELY GO TO THOSE WEAPONS; THEY
IMMEDIATELY GO TO GUNS, WHICH IS INTERESTING, BECAUSE, AGAIN, AND
IF SO THIS MULTIPLE TIMES BEFORE, IN THE PAST THE BIG
STORY WAS THAT COPS WERE OVERUSING TASERS, AND USING IT
ON INDIVIDUALS WHO HAD HEART CONDITIONS.
AT EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE NONLETHAL, SOME PEOPLE
WOULD DIE FROM TASERS, THAT WAS THE BIG STORY WE HAD MAYBE
FIVE YEARS AGO.
AND NOW, BECAUSE ñ MAYBE BECAUSE OF ALL THE TRANSPARENCY WE
HAVE WITH CELL PHONE VIDEOS, AND LIVE SOCIAL MEDIA VIDEOS,
WE HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF HOW LETHAL WEAPONS ARE NOW USED.
AND IT ALL HAPPENED TOO QUICKLY.
HE CALMLY TELLS THE COP, I HAVE TO TELL YOU, I HAVE A
LICENSED GUN IN THE CAR.
AND AGAIN, WE DID NOT SHOW YOU THE FULL VIDEO BECAUSE WE DID
NOT HAVE TIME, BUT YOU SHOULD WATCH THE FULL VIDEO,
BECAUSE THEIR INTERACTION BEFORE THE SHOOTING WAS TOTALLY FINE.
WAS,.
IT HAPPENED SO QUICKLY, ALMOST OUT OF NOWHERE.
IT'S BECAUSE THE COP THOUGHT ñ ONE OF THE REASONS THE
ESCALATION HAPPENED, WHY THE COUPLEDOM OVER WAS BECAUSE HE
THOUGHT HE LOOKED LIKE A SUSPECT IN A ROBBERY THAT HAD HAPPENED
NEARBY.
I STILL WANT TO SEE A SIDE-BY-SIDE, IF THEY EVER
CAUGHT THAT GUY, BECAUSE I THAT HE DOESN'T LOOK LIKE PHILANDO
CASTILLE, BUT HE WAS BLACK AND YOUNG AND SITTING IN A CAR.
HOW YOU RECONCILE THAT THE SUSPECT YOU THOUGHT WAS IN A CAR
WITH A WIFE AND CHILD.
AGAIN, IT'S A SLIGHT EVIDENCE OF
WHAT HUMANS DO WHEN THEY
ARE SHOOTING, THEY RUN AWAY.
SO, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT BLACK, SO, I DON'T HAVE STANDING HERE, BUT
I AM HUMAN, AND I DID SEE ñ YOU SEE THE REACTION OF THE COP, THE
COP STARTED TO CRY IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT, AND, THAT COP
DIDN'T WANT TO SHOOT HIM, RIGHT?
HE DID NOT WANT TO SHOOT HIM, AND IKE I OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T
WANT TO GET SHOT; NOBODY WANTED THAT TO HAPPEN.
SO, THE CONVICTION ñ WHICH I UNDERSTAND MEANS A LOT TO A LOT
OF PEOPLE, AND UNDERSTANDABLY ñ I UNDERSTAND WHY HE WASN'T
CONVICTED, I LOVE HOW THE PROSECUTOR TOOK THE CASE, AND
MADE THE CASE THAT NO REASONABLE PERSON UNDER THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES
WOULD HAVE DISCHARGED THEIR WEAPON.
THE DEFENSE, IT'S NOT THAT HARD TO DEFEND A COP WHO USES THE
WEAPON AND SAYS THAT THEY FEARED FOR THEIR LIFE, BECAUSE THE LAW
IS WRITTEN IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT IS A PRETTY EASY DEFENSE.
THAT COP FEARED FOR HIS LIFE.
THE PROBLEM IS, HOW DO WE CHANGE THAT THAT COP FEARED FOR
HIS LIFE?
HOW DO WE MAKE IT SO THAT INTERACTION ñ THE REASON HE
CAN'T GO IN WITH A TASER IS BECAUSE HE THOUGHT HE WAS
PULLING OVER A ROBBERY SUSPECT, SO YOU GO IN WITH A TASER.
BUT HOW DO WE CHANGE THOSE INTERACTIONS THAT HE'S NOT
TERRIFIED GOING IN?
ANSWER HE'S NOT SO QUICK, AND IF YOU CHANGE THE LAW, AND IT
BECOMES EASIER TO CONVICT POLICE OFFICERS, SOME COPS ARE
GOING TO QUIT.
THEY ARE GOING TO LEAVE THE FORCE.
THEY ARE ONE TO THINK, THIS JOB IS TOO DANGEROUS FOR ME TO
HAVE MY HANDS TIED, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT.
BUT IF WE ARE GOING TO GIVE PEOPLE GUNS, IN THE NAME OF THE
STATE, AND ALLOW THEM TO USE IT, WE HAVE GOT TO HAVE
INCREDIBLY TIGHT CONTROLS OVER THE USE OF THOSE WEAPONS.
TO ME, LEAVING OUTLAW, LEAVING OUT JUST INSTINCTIVE HUMAN
REACTION, I THINK THAT GUY LOST HIS HEAD TOO QUICKLY.
NO QUESTION, A LOT OF OTHER WAYS TO GO THERE, BUT HE LOST IT, AND
IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO CONVICT A COP OF THAT.
SO, THE LAW NEEDS TO BE CHANGED, THE TRAINING NEEDS TO BE
CHANGED, THAT WHOLE INTERACTION IS TO START FROM A DIFFERENT
PLACE, AND THEN, ONLY THEN DO I THINK WE SEE A REDUCTION IN
THESE OFFICER INVOLVED CASES.
I THINK YOU MAKE A REALLY GOOD POINT THERE, AND ONE THING I
WANT TO ADD IS, YES, THE ONUS IS ON POLICE DEPARTMENTS THROUGHOUT
THE COUNTRY, BUT I ALSO, I WANT TO ADDRESS SOMETHING ELSE THAT
KEEPS COMING UP WITH THESE STORIES THAT I THINK IS
PROBLEMATIC, AND IT IS SOCIETY'S REACTION TO IT, AND THIS COMFORT
THAT PEOPLE HAVE WITH DEMONIZING INNOCENT INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE
BEEN SHOT AND KILLED BY COPS.
AND SO, SOMETHING ANDERSON CAME ACROSS ON SOCIAL MEDIA YESTERDAY
THAT I WANTED TO JUST QUICKLY DRAW ATTENTION TO; THERE WAS A
BLACK ACTIVIST WHO POSTED SOMETHING ABOUT OTTO
WARMBIER, THE 22-YEAR-OLD WHO WAS DETAINED IN NORTH KOREA.
HE WAS SENT BACK, AND HE WAS SUFFERING FROM A COMA WHEN
HE WAS SENT BACK, AND UNFORTUNATELY, TRAGICALLY
HE WAS PRODUCTIVE DEAD YESTERDAY.
THE BLACK ACTIVIST WROTE SOMETHING YESTERDAY ABOUT HOW,
HE SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE ANYTHING CRIMINAL IN NORTH KOREA, TAKING
DOWN THAT BANNER WAS CRIMINAL ACTIVITY.
SO, ESSENTIALLY ANTAGONIZING WARMBIER FOR HIS ACTIONS IN
NORTH KOREA, BUT IT WASN'T MEANT TO BE --
IT WAS MEANT TO DRAW SIMILARITIES TO REACTIONS WHEN
WHITE PEOPLE ARE MURDERED VERSUS WHEN BLACK PEOPLE ARE MURDERED.
WHEN BLACK PEOPLE ARE MURDERED, IT SEEMS LIKE WHAT PEOPLE
HAVE NO PROBLEM TEARING THEM APART, DEMONIZING THEM,
ASSUMING THEY ARE THUGS, TALKING ABOUT HOW MUCH MARIJUANA THEY
HAVE IN THEIR SYSTEM ñ BY THE WAY, GUESS WHO SMOKES MARIJUANA?
PRE-MUCH EVERYONE.
THAT DOESN'T GIVE COPS THE AUTHORITY TO RUN AROUND SHOOTING
PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY MIGHT HAVE MARIJUANA IN THEIR SYSTEM.
BUT WE HAVE NO PROBLEM DEMONIZING PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN
SHOT AND KILLED, BUT IF SUMMARY POST SOMETHING ABOUT OTTO
WARMBIER, WHO WAS A 22-YEAR-OLD WHITE GUY ñ WHO, BY THE WAY,
SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN MURDERED, AND THAT WAS TRAGIC ñ BUT IF
PEOPLE SAY THE SAME THING ABOUT OTTO, PEOPLE ARE UP IN ARMS
ABOUT IT.
I DIDN'T GET THAT GUYS POINT AT ALL, I READ IT AND ASSUMED,
YOU GOT YOURSELF IN TROUBLE FOR THAT, BUT I DIDN'T GET
THAT, SO I'M GLAD YOU POINTED IT OUT.
WE DO IT ALL THE TIME, WE DID IT WITH MIKE BROWN, BUT HERE'S THE
DEAL; GOOD LUCK DOING IT WITH PHILANDO CASTILLE.
HE DID EVERYTHING RIGHT, EVERY GOD DAMN THING RIGHT.
HE LET THE POLICE KNOW THAT THERE WAS A GOT IN THE CAR,
THAT HE WAS LEGALLY ALLOWED TO CARRY.
THIS WAS A GUY ñ AND, BY THE WAY, PHILANDO CASTILLE, I THINK
THIS WAS RIGHT, I READ IT ON SOCIAL MEDIA, I READ IT AT THE
TIME OF THE SHOOTING, HE WAS A PROFESSIONAL GET STOPPED BY
POLICE GUY.
THE NUMBER I HAVE IN MY HEAD IS 46
TIMES THAT HE HAD BEEN PULLED OVER BY POLICE.
46 TIMES.
EITHER HE'S THE WORST DRIVER IN HISTORY OF MINNESOTA, OR HE
GETS PULLED OVER A LOT BECAUSE HE'S BLACK.
SO HE KNEW HOW TO GET PULLED OVER, HE'S CAREFUL; HIS
GIRLFRIEND'S FOUR-YEAR-OLD KID WAS IN THE CAR.
HE HANDED OVER THE INSURANCE, HE DIDN'T HAVE A LICENSE RIGHT
AWAY, HE WON THE COP AND DAMMIT THE GUY STILL GOT IT.
IT'S HORRIBLE, IT'S HIDEOUS.
SO, IT'S NOT ABOUT THE CONVICTION FOR ME, BUT I DON'T
HAVE THE STANDING, AND I GET IT, YOU ARE ñ
YOU HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO BE OUTRAGED.
BUT THE POINT IS, TO ME, WE HAVE GOT TO CHANGE THE SYSTEM AND THE
LAW, IMMEDIATELY, RIGHT NOW, SO THAT THERE ARE 10 OF THESE YEARS
AND NOT 900 OF THEM A YEAR.
IT IS MORE THAN THAT, THOUGH.
LIKE ANA SAID, THAT IS SO WELL-INTENTIONED AND RIGHT TO
DO, BUT IF WE AS A SOCIETY ARE SO QUICK TO LOOK AT PEOPLE AND
GO, THEY ARE BAD, THEY ARE CRIMINALS, THAT'S MORE THAN US.
WHEN WE LOOK AT BLACK LIVES MATTER AND PEOPLE GO, THAT'S A
HATE GROUP, THEY ARE TERRIBLE.
ALL THEY ARE SAYING IS, WE ARE HUMAN, STOP KILLING US, WE
BLEED, WE ARE JUST LIKE YOU, STOP ATTENDING WE DON'T MATTER.