What Philando Castile’s death says about the dangers of “driving while black”

[yallerdawg]

Audio suggests Philando Castile was pulled over because his nose fit a robbery suspect’s profile.

http://www.vox.com/2016/7/11/12147878/philando-castile-driving-while-black

Audio clips from the police radio suggest that one of the tragedies of Philando Castile’s death by St. Anthony law enforcement in Minnesota was that he was victim of simply “driving while black.”

According to audio recovered by local news station KARE11 from a viewer, an officer radioed a traffic stop that they matched Castile’s license plate and location on July 6 allegedly because Castile looked like a robbery suspect, “just ’cause of the wide set nose”:

"I’m going to stop a car. I’m going to check IDs. I have reason to pull it over."

"The two occupants just look like people that were involved in a robbery. The driver looks like one of our suspects, just ‘cause of the wide set nose."

[doc03]

1. Could you or someone post the cell phone recording

his girlfriend made. I have heard claims from Rethugs that he had the gun between his legs and tried to grab it. Does the
recording have him telling the cop he has CCW or is it the girlfriend saying that he did? Did the cop ask him for his license and registration or did he just reach for it on his own? Every time something like this happens it seems you hear two or three sides of the story.

[yallerdawg]

2. The point is...

there was no cause to pull him over.

None of the subsequent events should have happened.

[doc03]

5. No that is irrelevant. The point is when he was pulled over did he keep his hands on the

wheel and tell the officer he had a CCW permit and possessed a weapon? Did the officer ask him for his license and registration or did he
take his hands off the wheel on his own? I have not heard the recording and I will not make any conclusions either way.

[yallerdawg]

6. Disgusting victim-blaming.

You want an excuse for executing a citizen who was practicing his Second Amendment rights.

You just want to skip all his other Constitutional rights on top of the Second Amendment.

Where does it say, "... the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed as long as the black man keeps his hands on the steering will and says "Yes sir" and "No sir."

This OP is about "driving while black." Not about your diversions.

[doc03]

7. I don't care if you are black, white or green. If you get a CCW permit you are supposed

keep your hands in sight and tell the officer you have a CCW. Then you wait to see how he wants to handle the situation, you don't reach for your wallet or reach for the glove box. How the hell does he know if you are going to pull a gun on him or your license? You have 2nd Amendment rights but you also need a permit for CC and you follow the procedures. COPs pull people over every day and they never know what to expect. I worked with a guy years ago his dad was a cop, he pulled over a car for speeding and he was shot dead it turned out they had just robbed a bank minutes before.

[Jitter65]

3. Was he even driving?

I believe he was merely
Y "riding".

[yallerdawg]

4. "Driving while black."

CORRECTION: The original post said Castile had been pulled over 31 times. It has been updated to show that he was pulled over 52 times over the course of his driving history.

Stopped 52 times by police: Was it racial profiling?

When Philando Castile saw the flashing lights in his rearview mirror the night he got shot, it wasn't unusual. He had been pulled over at least 52 times in recent years in and around the Twin Cities and given citations for minor offenses including speeding, driving without a muffler and not wearing a seat belt.

He was assessed at least $6,588 in fines and fees, although more than half of the total 86 violations were dismissed, court records show.

Was Castile an especially bad driver or just unlucky? Or was he targeted by officers who single out black motorists like him for such stops, as several of his family members have alleged?

The answer may never be known, but Castile's stop for "a broken tail light" Wednesday ended with him fatally shot by a suburban St. Paul police officer, and Castile's girlfriend livestreaming the chilling aftermath.

[Jitter65]

8. I thought his girl friend was driving