Black Man Shot and Killed By Police Officer in Minnesota, Aftermath Streamed on Facebook
Philando Castile, 32, died Wednesday night after being shot several times by a police officer in a suburb outside St. Paul, Minn., police confirmed. The immediate aftermath of the shooting was streamed live on Facebook by Castile’s girlfriend Lavish Reynolds.
According to Reynolds, the two were pulled over for having a broken tail light. In the video, she says that the unidentified officer asked Castile for his license and registration, but that when he went to reach for it the officer shot him four times in the arm. Reynolds says Castile informed the officer that he was in possession of a legally owned firearm.
The officer can be heard screaming at Reynolds: “I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out.” Reynolds replies by saying, “You told him to get his I.D., sir. His driver’s license.”
The video, which has disappeared from Reynolds’ Facebook page, goes on to show her exiting the car and being arrested by attendant officers. “They threw my phone, Facebook,” she says. She can then be heard crying in the background: “Please don’t tell me my boyfriend is gone.” Later, Reynolds’ four-year-old daughter can be heard consoling her before both are shown in the back of a police car.
The video is below. Please be aware that it is graphic and disturbing.
[There was a video here]
According to Reynolds, Castile worked for the St. Paul Public School system. His death is the second of a black man at the hands of police this week. Late Monday night, Alton Sterling was shot in the chest and killed in Baton Rouge, La. in an incident that is already being investigated by the Department of Justice.
Castile’s family provided this photo of him to a local reporter:
Update: man shot by police in #FalconHeights died at HCMC. His mom identifies him as Philando Castile, 32 #wcco #cbs pic.twitter.com/OKxMP0VG65
— Jennifer Mayerle (@jennifermayerle) July 7, 2016