Officer Jeronimo Yanez's bracelet the day he shot Philando Castile.
Yesterday, Ramsey County, Minnesota, released dashcam video from Officer Jeronimo Yanez's police car, as he pumped seven bullets into the body of Philando Castile, after Castile informed the officer he was legally carrying a gun.
We bore witness only to the first four minutes of the video. Maybe we will try again now.
Or maybe we won't. Yes, there's the second officer scooping up the tiny daughter of Diamond Reynolds, Castile's girlfriend, and whooshing her away from the scene. Is anybody else grateful he didn't shoot the little girl, but sped her away from the car instead? It's as good as we have in this situation; we'll hold onto it.
Along with the video, Ramsey County released information from its investigation, including its interview with Officer Yanez. And he had a very good reason for having to shoot Philando Castile seven times without even a pause in between bullets: He smelled marijuana.
I thought if he’s, if he has the, the guts and the audacity to smoke marijuana in front of the five-year-old girl and risk her lungs and risk her life by giving her secondhand smoke and the front-seat passenger doing the same thing then what, what care does he give about me?
Without admitting to any felonies on the part of me, my husband, my parents, my parents' friends, my brothers, my sisters, or pretty much everyone I have ever met except my therapist, who thinks smoking pot in front of children is untoward, I will say only that I haven't seen any white people executed for smoking marijuana lately, although if President Trump continues to slather praise on Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte and his "tough on drugs by literally killing people in the streets," that is liable to change.
A jury apparently agreed with Officer Yanez's detective work there, Lou. He was acquitted last Friday of even manslaughter charges, let alone murder (which is reasonable, as murder requires intent, and Yanez's shocked reaction to his own horrific actions shows he can't believe he fucking did that, FUCK!!!!).
Luckily for Officer Yanez, he had the presence of mind to make up a bunch of nonsense about violent stoners after the fact, Castile and Reynolds's calm and de-escalating demeanor notwithstanding.
Officer Yanez was also a product of "Bulletproof," a "warrior policing" training that teaches police to neutralize threats in a second, by shooting them until they are dead, because de-escalation is for pussies who hate cops and want them to die.
Shit. Have a different kitten.
That's better.
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Here now. This is America. We don't blame the gun. Ever.
I live in Harlem. I am white but all my AA friends have the talk with their kids, and I had it with my HS-aged daughter. Cops have guns. And many are itching for a fight.