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It's my personal belief that there should be mandatory education in America about how to interact with police officers. This is by no means a suggestion that Mr. Castile did anything wrong. He most certainly did not deserve what happened to him. I think that education may help prevent future tragedies.
When interacting with police officers, you need to do exactly what they tell you to do. You do not ever want to do anything that may cause an officer to fear for his safety or the safety of others. They put their lives on the line every single day. Many officers have been killed during traffic stops.
Sad.
How about mandatory training for police officers when interacting with POC?
How can you do exactly what they tell you to do when they shoot as soon as they get on to the scene?
Location: Free State of Florida, Support our police
5,859 posts, read 3,296,750 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MPowering1
This isn't what you wrote in your initial post.
Having a wide nose indicts much of the AA community. What a lame excuse for pulling someone over. So in your mind, all the black males were suspects. He should have just stood at the intersection and told every car containing a black male to pull over.
Before Castile even finished telling Yanez he had a firearm, Yanez was pulling his gun out. That seems like an overreaction, so in his mind Castile was going to use the firearm against him, and based on that fear, he chose to take the action he took.
Everyone is talking about the inconsistencies of the account from Castile's girlfriend, but Yanez told his supervisor he didn't know where the gun was, but then said he told Castile to get his hand off of it.
Seven shots at close range into the car, five of which hit Castile, whose last words were, "I wasn't reaching for it."
Yanez was fearful and made irrational decisions based on that fear.
No video of what happened, but we do know Yanez told different versions of the event, and that makes him less than credible.
Apparently the jury felt he was credible. Hence a NOT GUILTY!!!!
Another jittery twitchy cop that jumps the gun. But was there malicious intent? Should there have been lower level charges they could have convicted him on? Some jail time? I haven't followed this case closely enough to speculate but I'd say this cop should never again work in law enforcement. Too many nervous Nellie hair trigger cops out there.
What happened to Philando Castile is beyond tragic however I will continue to support law enforcement. They have a very difficult job and are often hated in the communities which they patrol.
The best solution would be to dial back a lot of the rhetoric and place a stronger emphasis on community policing and truly getting to know members of the community. All police officers are not the enemy. All black men are not criminals. Common ground must be found.
Wholeheartedly agree with this, particularly with the focus on working towards solution-providing along with identifying possible root or underlying causes, i.e. "to dial back the rhetoric ... ."
Too many folks are being harmed & dying full stop. It's long past time to re-evaluate why & attempt to solve the more systemic reasons. A good place to start is with the broken 'Broken Windows Theory' of over-policing:
"The broken windows theory is a criminological theory of the norm-setting and signaling effect of urban disorder and vandalism on additional crime and anti-social behavior."
This piece contains more in-depth information & case studies:
Quote:
...Newark’s blue summonses were rooted in the 1980s-era theory known as “Broken Windows,” which argues that maintaining order by policing low-level offenses can prevent more serious crimes.
But in cities where Broken Windows has taken root, there’s little evidence that it’s worked as intended. The theory has instead resulted in what critics say is aggressive over-policing of minority communities, which often creates more problems than it solves. Such practices can strain criminal justice systems, burden impoverished people with fines for minor offenses, and fracture the relationship between police and minorities. It can also lead to tragedy: In New York in 2014, Eric Garner died from a police chokehold after officers approached him for selling loose cigarettes on a street corner. ...
How do you have the audacity to show these numbers? To prove what? That 6% of the U.S. population (black men) are on par with a white majority as it relates to police shootings. Oh I see - you wanted to prove that shooting black boys and men are a national tragedy eh? Well I agree...great use of statistics there!
Philando Castile, along with Terence Crutcher in Oklahoma City, proves to me that this society has a justice problem - that is, justice is a flappable term depending on who we apply it to. Because it's not just a police problem where officers are shooting black men b/c they're scared. The justice system is still dealing with majority-white juries who have no problem convicting black men of crimes while not applying the same brand of justice to other whites. This is a historical precedent that seems to live on generation to generation with no end in sight. Every step of the criminal justice system - the police, the prosecutors and public defenders, the juries, and the prison industrial complex seem to be hell-bent on either exterminating or locking up black males. So in that sense - the whole concept of justice (and a criminal justice system) is a lie that we keep telling ourselves.
I have been pulled over with gun in possession, it's simple, first thing tell the officer you have an LTC and a gun. Do this all with your hands in plain view. I think we are overlooking the fact that the cop was pulling over someone who fit the description of robbery suspect and possibly dangerous. He was probably more nervous than a normal traffic stop, not to mention Castile was reaching into his pocket after telling the cop he had a gun. At this point he did not know Castile had a LTC, it did not become known until after the shooting. This was probably taken into account by the jury and he was given the benefit of the doubt. Seriously, put your self in the cops shoes, what would you do? I am not saying the cop was right or wrong, the situation is a lot different when viewing everything from the sideline than when you are actually on the ground and involved.
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