Police officer Geronimo Yanez has been acquitted in the tragic death of Philando Castile, who he believed was armed when he shot him after a traffic stop. The aftermath was livestreamed on Facebook as he died in the car.
NOT GUILTY – #YanezTrial jury finds officer Jeronimo Yanez not guilty on all charges in Philando Castile shooting.
— Lou Raguse (@LouRaguse) June 16, 2017
Here’s part of the video. We posted more on it when it happened here.
#PhilandoCastile killer walks free.
Another dead Black man whose murder was justified in the eyes of Legal systempic.twitter.com/ybwXid948Z— E (@esheikh_) June 16, 2017
Unfortunately we’ve gotten into the habit of reflexively protecting the police by trashing any victim of a police shooting. But in this case, we just don’t know what happened before the video started rolling. Castile was licensed to possess the gun he had. By any sane account, this is just a tragedy.
Yanez, however, was just let go by the police force.
So even if he’s not going to charged with anything, he loses his job.
It really comes down to this – he had every right to have a gun. The cop says he acted in a way that put him in harm’s way. If he did that, it was foolish, and unfortunately that’s police policy. If he didn’t, then the cop got away with an itchy trigger finger. We just can’t know with absolute certainty which story is true.
His mother is upset, and reasonably so.
#PhilandoCastile's mother addresses the press after the cop who murdered her only son was acquitted.
"We aren't evolving we are devolving." pic.twitter.com/cCrPczSs9D
— Brenna Simon (@BrennaSimonSays) June 16, 2017
“He will have to face his creator…I hope he die tonight.” – Philando Castile’s mother, Valerie, says about #JeronimoYanez after verdict. pic.twitter.com/kcpBywmI8K
— WCCO | CBS News Minnesota (@WCCO) June 16, 2017
Unfortunately, this will enflame passions on both sides and leave us even more divided.