No Justice: The system continues to fail black people

[Lois]

I almost didn't post about this because these situations seem so commonplace and nothing has been done.

There Is No Justice In America For Black People Killed By Cops
“The system continues to fail black people.”
By Julia Craven

It’s happening again.

I have to write about Philando Castile, the 32-year-old black man who was shot and killed by a Minnesota police officer last July. I have to compose myself, sit at this laptop and write something profound about another black life taken by a police officer, another officer found not guilty for killing a black person.

And, you know, I have nothing much to say.

On Friday, St. Anthony police Officer Jeronimo Yanez was found not guilty in Castile’s death. In audio recording from just before the encounter, Yanez can be heard saying: “I’m going to stop a car. I’m going to check IDs. I have reason to pull it over. The two occupants just look like people that were involved in a robbery.”

“The driver looks more like one of our suspects, just ’cause of the wide-set nose,” Yanez continues. He later confirmed that he believed Castile matched the description of a suspect, something cops often say about black men.

Yanez pulled the car over. Things escalated. Yanez shot seven times into the vehicle. He thought Castile was reaching for his weapon, a gun that Castile was licensed to carry and that he had informed the officer about moments before. Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, says he was reaching for his wallet. She began filming on her phone. The resulting video, with Castile bleeding to death on camera as Reynolds calmly complies with the officer’s screamed instructions, is impossible to forget.

The officer was placed on leave. The officer was charged. And now, nearly a year later, the officer is acquitted and goes home to his family, unlike his victim.

It’s almost textbook.

[joan1984]

  Following the Officer's demands, instructions, commands is wise, as the woman filming learned. Unfortunately, her boyfriend was high, ignored orders not to reach into the car, and paid the price of such stupidity.

  Good that the Officer was acquitted by a jury of his peers, including a mix of male, female, white, black and other jurors. Hope the lesson learned is not to do drugs, and certainly not to drive, drugged, and armed. TY, Lois...

[Lois]

Huh? Where did you get that he was high?  And how is that an excuse for murder?

What would you say if police killed everyone pulled over for a DUI?  Are you saying that would be acceptable?

The victim in this case was pulled over for a broken tail light.  He complied with all the officer's orders and even informed them that he had a permit to carry.  If this happened to a white person you'd be screaming "Police state, infringement of 2nd amendment rights!"

[ChirpingGirl]

http://www.theroot.com/la-cop-convicted-of-killing-6-year-old-autistic-boy-in-1793638310

But footage from Greenhouse’s body camera shows that Few had raised his hands in a universal sign of surrender before the two deputies collectively fired 18 shots at the vehicle.

Justice gets served on occasion.


You may proceed with your childish insults.

[Lois]

I guess killing a 6 year old boy was just too much for the jury, even if the boy was black.  So there is ONE who got justice.

[jbbooks]

  Following the Officer's demands, instructions, commands is wise, as the woman filming learned. Unfortunately, her boyfriend was high, ignored orders not to reach into the car, and paid the price of such stupidity.

  Good that the Officer was acquitted by a jury of his peers, including a mix of male, female, white, black and other jurors. Hope the lesson learned is not to do drugs, and certainly not to drive, drugged, and armed. TY, Lois...

I find it all amazing that there are so many who will believe ANYTHING that is said by law enforcement. All they have to do is utter "I feared" and a free pass is given. We will never truly know what happened because the victim can not speak for himself. Hopefully though there will be justice in this case sooner or later. Too many innocent lives have been taken without any accountability, except the taxpayer writing the checks to the families. Our legal system is broken with complete cowards who sit on the jury. They are so damn afraid to hold anyone but the victim accountable. The whole system needs torn down and rebuilt so innocent lives matter and the protections for the "boys in yellow" are taken away. But that will happen as soon as I grow my 3rd set of teeth.

[jbbooks]

I almost didn't post about this because these situations seem so commonplace and nothing has been done.

There Is No Justice In America For Black People Killed By Cops
“The system continues to fail black people.”
By Julia Craven

It’s happening again.

I have to write about Philando Castile, the 32-year-old black man who was shot and killed by a Minnesota police officer last July. I have to compose myself, sit at this laptop and write something profound about another black life taken by a police officer, another officer found not guilty for killing a black person.

And, you know, I have nothing much to say.

On Friday, St. Anthony police Officer Jeronimo Yanez was found not guilty in Castile’s death. In audio recording from just before the encounter, Yanez can be heard saying: “I’m going to stop a car. I’m going to check IDs. I have reason to pull it over. The two occupants just look like people that were involved in a robbery.”

“The driver looks more like one of our suspects, just ’cause of the wide-set nose,” Yanez continues. He later confirmed that he believed Castile matched the description of a suspect, something cops often say about black men.

Yanez pulled the car over. Things escalated. Yanez shot seven times into the vehicle. He thought Castile was reaching for his weapon, a gun that Castile was licensed to carry and that he had informed the officer about moments before. Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, says he was reaching for his wallet. She began filming on her phone. The resulting video, with Castile bleeding to death on camera as Reynolds calmly complies with the officer’s screamed instructions, is impossible to forget.

The officer was placed on leave. The officer was charged. And now, nearly a year later, the officer is acquitted and goes home to his family, unlike his victim.

It’s almost textbook.

There will never ever be accountability until our legal system is fixed. We as a nation are just too damn scared of law enforcement or suffer from hero worship. The people need to get off their knees and demand changes or more innocent lives will be lost. The sad thing is there is no age or color which is immune to killer cops who fear their own damn shadows.
 

[JulesVern]

  Following the Officer's demands, instructions, commands is wise, as the woman filming learned. Unfortunately, her boyfriend was high, ignored orders not to reach into the car, and paid the price of such stupidity.

  Good that the Officer was acquitted by a jury of his peers, including a mix of male, female, white, black and other jurors. Hope the lesson learned is not to do drugs, and certainly not to drive, drugged, and armed. TY, Lois...

I find it all amazing that there are so many who will believe ANYTHING that is said by law enforcement. All they have to do is utter "I feared" and a free pass is given. We will never truly know what happened because the victim can not speak for himself. Hopefully though there will be justice in this case sooner or later. Too many innocent lives have been taken without any accountability, except the taxpayer writing the checks to the families. Our legal system is broken with complete cowards who sit on the jury. They are so damn afraid to hold anyone but the victim accountable. The whole system needs torn down and rebuilt so innocent lives matter and the protections for the "boys in yellow" are taken away. But that will happen as soon as I grow my 3rd set of teeth.

Why is the woman any more credible than the police officer? There isn't any video of this incident and what audio there is doesn't show what Philando was actually doing so all we can do is choose who to believe. For me, in cases without evidence to the contrary, I generally choose to believe the police officer. They have a difficult job and they deal with difficult people. Add to that the fact that they sometimes have only moments to make a decision that may save or cost them their life and I can understand why they don't hesitate. Those who hesitate often die. It's that simple.

As for the no justice, that's bullshit. The jury system did its job.

[msslave]

Having lived with this as a "local" for the past year, I was much surprised when the not guilty verdict was announced.

Castile's autopsy showed high levels of THC in his blood.  The gun was in his pocket, but it's unclear if the officer could see it.  Just the fact he fired 7 shots in just a few seconds told me he was not in control, but reacted only on fear not facts.  A little kid and the girl friend were in the car during this hail of bullets, two or three that went astray.

The town that employs Officer Yanez announced he was being fired shortly after the verdict was announced.  So, not guilty but not worthy of being a police officer.

One of the jurors stated after that the state did not present a convincing case.  Hard to believe as all the news reports seemed convincing.  The defence attorney is very skilled at getting defendants off.  He's known not to take a case he can't win. 

Seem's justice comes down to who puts on the best "show" for the jury.

[Lois]

@ Jules Vern

There was a video of the incident.  That's what makes the verdict so shocking.

[JulesVern]

@ Jules Vern

There was a video of the incident.  That's what makes the verdict so shocking.

If there is, it has not been released as far as I know. The only video of this incident started after the shooting. If I am wrong, please send me a link.

[JulesVern]

Having lived with this as a "local" for the past year, I was much surprised when the not guilty verdict was announced.

Castile's autopsy showed high levels of THC in his blood.  The gun was in his pocket, but it's unclear if the officer could see it.  Just the fact he fired 7 shots in just a few seconds told me he was not in control, but reacted only on fear not facts.  A little kid and the girl friend were in the car during this hail of bullets, two or three that went astray.

They are trained to shoot until they are out of bullets if they feel that their life is in danger. And no, never shoot to wound. A wounded person can be more dangerous than an unwounded one.

The town that employs Officer Yanez announced he was being fired shortly after the verdict was announced.  So, not guilty but not worthy of being a police officer.

Done to be politically correct. I won't be surprised if he sues and gets either his job back or money.

One of the jurors stated after that the state did not present a convincing case.  Hard to believe as all the news reports seemed convincing.  The defence attorney is very skilled at getting defendants off.  He's known not to take a case he can't win. 

The jury is not allowed to base their verdict on what they see in the news, only on what is presented in court.

Seem's justice comes down to who puts on the best "show" for the jury.

No, justice is nothing of the sort. Justice is getting your day in court. The ruling goes to the side that presents the best case and that's the way it has to work.

[Lois]

@ Jules Vern

There was a video of the incident.  That's what makes the verdict so shocking.

If there is, it has not been released as far as I know. The only video of this incident started after the shooting. If I am wrong, please send me a link.

That is the one I meant.  Sorry for the misunderstanding.

[phtlc]

Yanez pulled the car over. Things escalated. Yanez shot seven times into the vehicle. He thought Castile was reaching for his weapon, a gun that Castile was licensed to carry and that he had informed the officer about moments before. Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, says he was reaching for his wallet. She began filming on her phone. The resulting video, with Castile bleeding to death on camera as Reynolds calmly complies with the officer’s screamed instructions, is impossible to forget.
 

Without camera footage of the shooting or the events leading up to it, it's hard to tell. We only have an after the fact video and the inevitable "he said she said". That said I'd be disinclined to go reaching for anything in my jacket or pockets or make any other sudden movements in a confrontation with a cop.

The officer was placed on leave. The officer was charged. And now, nearly a year later, the officer is acquitted and goes home to his family, unlike his victim.
It’s almost textbook.

Except the cop was fired

And how is that an excuse for murder?
 

Even if the cop over reacted that's not murder. Some sort of lesser charge, but unless the cop acted solely with the intention of killing the guy that is not murder.

What would you say if police killed everyone pulled over for a DUI?  Are you saying that would be acceptable?
 

I'm neither agreeing or disagreeing with Joan's position on the driver being high, but nothing in Joan's comment suggested impairment itself justified shooting anyone.

The victim in this case was pulled over for a broken tail light.  He complied with all the officer's orders and even informed them that he had a permit to carry.  If this happened to a white person you'd be screaming "Police state, infringement of 2nd amendment rights!"

I can't seem to find any video on the events leading up to the shooting so I can't agree or disagree with your assertion that he complied with the officers orders.


Edited to add;

"The squad-car video shows Yanez approaching Castile's car and asking for a driver's licence and proof of insurance. Castile appears to give something to Yanez through the driver's side window. Castile then informs the officer he's carrying a weapon, but before he finishes his sentence, Yanez has his hand on his own gun and is pulling it out of the holster.
There is shouting, and Yanez screams "Don't pull it out!" before he fires seven shots into the car, five of which hit Castile. Prosecutors say Castile's last words were: "I wasn't reaching for it.""
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/officer-philando-castile-verdict-1.4164845

So there is evidence that circumstances left the officer fearing for his safety.

[JulesVern]

@ Jules Vern

There was a video of the incident.  That's what makes the verdict so shocking.

If there is, it has not been released as far as I know. The only video of this incident started after the shooting. If I am wrong, please send me a link.

That is the one I meant.  Sorry for the misunderstanding.

And since it is only after the shooting is useless for the purposes of understanding what happened.

[Katiebee]

Circumstantial evidence points to a severe overreaction from the officer.

[joan1984]

Such evidence is not relevant, of course, why it is called 'circumstantial'.

Circumstantial evidence points to a severe overreaction from the officer.

[Katiebee]

Joan, contrary to popular belief, you can be convicted from circumstantial evidence. And it can be very relevant.

[phtlc]

Circumstantial evidence points to a severe overreaction from the officer.

I did read somewhere that the officer only had two hours of de-escalation training which really didn't seem like much for a guy who carries a gun. . I'm curious if this is the norm or not.

In many controversial police cases while many just see a cop on a power trip, I tend to see a poorly trained officer who is a bit intimidated and trying to compensate for that with greater assertiveness which manifests itself as aggression. This makes the suspect feel defensive, and then the cop gets even more intimidated by the defensiveness and subsequently becomes more aggressive, making the suspect even more defensive.....etc and then shit goes bad.

What kind of de-escalation training is in place for people who are trained to carry guns? Does it come close to the amount of time they spend on firearms training?

As JulesVern pointed out, like them or not, the job looks like it has many encounters that can be intimidating. Do they get much training in this area?

[JulesVern]

Joan, contrary to popular belief, you can be convicted from circumstantial evidence. And it can be very relevant.

But not only on circumstantial evidence. There must be more.