GUESS WHAT WE JUST LEARNED ABOUT THE GUN PHILANDO CASTILE
WAS CARRYING….
All week long people have been crying foul in regards to the deaths of two black men at the hands of police.
Listening to them you’d think the police just walked up to two random black guys and killed them for no reason at all.
But that’s not the case at all.
While the death of Alton Sterling seemed to be more cut and dry (he had a long rap sheet and was accused of waving a gun at someone) the death of Philando Castile was anything but.
At least at first appearance.
In the now viral video the now deceased Castile lies in the front seat of a car having
just been shot. His girlfriend says he was shot while retrieving his license after
announcing he has a CCW.
just been shot. His girlfriend says he was shot while retrieving his license after
announcing he has a CCW.
Turns out those facts might not be the least bit true.
The shooting of Philando Castile seemed like the perfect, airtight case for anti-cop protesters to use against law enforcement. A man pulled over for a broken taillight reached for his wallet and said he was legally carrying a concealed firearm. A cop shot him with his child in the car, leading to his death.Increasing the outrage was a graphic video of Castile’s death, shot by his girlfriend, Diamond “Lavish” Reynolds.Things began to go downhill from there. First, the Minnesota county that would have issued Castile’s concealed carry permit said that he hadn’t even filed an application for one; the gun was being illegally carried.Then, it came out that he wasn’t being pulled over for a broken taillight when he was stopped in Falcon Heights, Minnesota on July 6. He actually matched the description of a man who committed an armed robbery in the area the day before.But what about the child, you may ask? Well, it’s not as if either Philando Castile or Diamond “Lavish” Reynolds abstained from doing things they shouldn’t have with their child in the car. New video shows that both of them would do drugs while driving with their child in the backseat.The videos, unbelievably, were posted to Reynolds’ Facebook account.Given the rather irregular look of that cigarette and Ms. Reynolds’, um, laconic demeanor, I’m going to assume that’s not tobacco.Oh well. At least it was a one-time occurrence, something that happened while they were … oh, wait, there’s another video of Reynolds doing drugs in their car with their kid present?In this one, Philando Castile doesn’t seem to be present (although it’s difficult to tell, thanks to the fact that Reynolds seems very impressed with her ability to inhale marijuana and dedicates almost every moment to filming herself). At 2:09, she also seems to intimate that she sells drugs, something that would intimate they were perhaps deeper in crime than just the average stoner couple.Of course, I’m sure they never drove their daughter around while stoned.This doesn’t mean that the shooting of Philando Castile was justified, and for all we know this could be a case for the courts. Whatever the matter, though, it’s not a case for the court of public opinion — especially when that opinion is manipulated by the omission of facts by the media.
And yet again we’re now being presented with what might seem to be a completely justified shooting.
If Castile matched the description of a criminal and was engaged in criminal activity (carrying an illegal gun) then it stands to reason the officer acted in fear of his life being taken away.
Now we can only assume at this point in time what exactly what happened.
Now we can only assume at this point in time what exactly what happened.
That’s why we have to wait for a trial…and not allow social media and it’s lack of transparency determine where the guilt really lies.
Do you have a problem with people blaming the police before all the facts are in?
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