The Minnesota police officer who fatally shot, Philando Castile during a traffic stop back in July of 2016, was acquitted on all charges (second-degree man slaughter and two counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm) by a jury this past Friday.
It's been almost a year since Castile's murder surfaced the internet, admits the accounts of several shootings caused by law enforcement.
Officer Jeronimo Yanez pulled Castile's car over in Falcon Heights, a suburb of St. Paul. At the time, Castile was with his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds and her four-year old daughter who were sitting in the passenger seats.
According to Reynolds, after being asked for his license and registration, Castile told Officer Yanez the licensed weapon he had in his pants pocket. Reynolds stated once Castile reached to get his ID, seconds after telling the officer about his permit for the gun and told him he had it, he proceeded to shoot him. The officer shot Castile seven times. Reynolds began streaming the aftermath of the shooting on Facebook Live. The Medical Examiner's office ruled Castile's death as a homicide and he sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
Castile's death, along with the live-streamed video irrupted an even bigger fire that focused on the incidents of fatal police-involved shootings. It sparked attention with the ongoing issue of how law enforcement wrongfully use deadly weapons, particularly towards black men and boys.
Castile is one of the 258 black people killed by law enforcement in 2016. Sadly, the number of fatalities within the black community continues to increase. Just halfway through 2017, and 105 black people have been killed by police.
Police officers, now more than ever, are less likely to face any criminal charges or convictions. As a woman of color, it's frustrating to know that those who have 'higher power' and are supposed to 'serve and protect' individuals and communities, are abusing it. Everyday, when law enforcement kill a person of color, they are never held accountable for their actions.
However, none of this is new. All of this violence targeted towards black people has always occurred, even before we heard of Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, and the many hundreds of black lives that have been wrongfully taken away. If we trace back through history, there's evidence of the obstruction and abuse that's always been going on within the government law enforcement that not many people would know about. However, through the help of social media and news outlets, we get updated much faster.
Let it be known, that the system continues to fail people of color, especially black people. We live in a society where black people are constantly targeted simply by the color of their skin and the racial stereotypes that have been embedded within our society that has allowed people to view them a certain way.
This system that we will live is built on violence against black people. It continues to not only cause heartbreak in families, but it brings on a level of greater fear and injustice within black communities. The law enforcement has clearly shown that they only serve and protect specific individuals.
Justice wasn't served for Philando Castile. Millions saw the video of his death, yet it wasn't enough for a conviction. At what cost do we have to continue to hear the several black lives being killed until justice is served? How many more black lives are going to be devalued in this country? We can't continue to call it the justice system, if it continues to fail certain individuals.
