On Wednesday, Minnesota resident Philando Castile lost his life to a police officer. It was a routine traffic stop as the officer asked for license and registration. When Castile reached for his wallet, the officer shot him four times in the arm.
According to Castile’s girlfriend, Lavish (a.k.a. Diamond Reynolds) Reynolds, Castile informed the officer that he had a pistol and was licensed to carry it. He told the officer that he was getting his wallet but the officer shot him.
In the Facebook video you cannot see the cop’s face, but you can see his arm shaking. He is still pointing the gun at Castile and his arm is shaking. He dropped a few f-bombs and made an excuse for doing it. Amazingly, Reynolds live streamed the whole video on Facebook. The Governor of Minnesota is calling for a Department of Justice investigation.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, posted this comment on the incident:
“Yesterday, a Minnesota woman named Diamond Reynolds went live on Facebook immediately after her fiancé, Philando Castile, had been shot by police in his car. Philando later died from his wounds. In the video, Diamond’s 4-year-old daughter is watching from the back seat.”
“My heart goes out to the Castile family and all the other families who have experienced this kind of tragedy. My thoughts are also with all members of the Facebook community who are deeply troubled by these events.”
“The images we’ve seen this week are graphic and heartbreaking, and they shine a light on the fear that millions of members of our community live with every day. While I hope we never have to see another video like Diamond’s, it reminds us why coming together to build a more open and connected world is so important — and how far we still have to go.”
Zuckerberg did not comment on the fact that the video was temporarily removed. It is still on Facebook, and it is now on YouTube.
(Warning: Graphic Content)
