Officer's defense can bring up Philando Castile's marijuana use, judge rules

[TexasTowelie]

Evidence of marijuana use by Philando Castile on the day he was fatally shot by a St. Anthony police officer can be used at the officer’s manslaughter trial, a Ramsey County judge ruled Tuesday.

District Judge William H. Leary III’s decision was a key for officer Jeronimo Yanez’s defense team as they prepare for his trial to begin May 30, according to Earl Gray, one of the officer’s three attorneys.

“That was a big issue of us,” Gray said. “It’s our position that the evidence will be overwhelming that (Castile and his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds) had been smoking marijuana that day. … And that explains why when … officer Yanez said, ‘Don’t reach for (your gun). Don’t do it.’ … Castile reached for his gun anyway.”

It was after Castile, a 32-year-old black man, reached for his gun that Yanez, fearing for his life, fired seven bullets into his car, hitting Castile, according to his attorneys.

Read more: http://www.twincities.com/2017/05/16/judge-assault-charge-pending-against-castiles-girlfriend-not-relevant-to-legal-issues-of-his-death/

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1. They're laying the groundwork to get that killer off too, just as they did the Tulsa killer cop

We all saw the facebook live killing of Castile. The cop panicked and now they're trying to make it seem like he didn't.

Castile was a licensed carrier and he told the cop he had a gun and was going to produce it.

That's when the cop panicked and fired into the car

[tblue37]

2. I think he was getting out his carry permit, not his gun! nt

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3. That's even worse. The killer cop panicked and shot into a car with 3 people in it.

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4. The shooting and prior to the shooting was not on video. That's the problem

What the video did show was a very shaky, nervous cop right after the shooting. That really stood out for me. Especially in such marked contrast to the very self-controlled girlfriend. Otherwise it's a he-said she-said kind of thing, unfortunately.

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5. It showed the results of a killer cop shooting into a car with 3 people in it.

It also showed in real time the blood seeping through the dying man's clothes as he moaned in pain, and as you said, it showed the nervous, scared, panicky killer who had no business being a cop.

We got the picture.

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6. Yup, but we don't know if he Castile reached for a gun or not. No cop would have acted

otherwise if that was the case. Including me (though I'm not a cop).

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7. We do have the livestream dialogue of the girlfriend explaining what happened

And how many of these recorded instances of panicky, scared cops have we seen in the last couple of years shooting black men?

And a few have been of cops shooting into cars and killing them.

There's no justification for it. I assume you're not trying to make one, right?

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8. *IF he was reaching for his gun after the cop told him not to, then yes, that is justification to me

That's a big IF, I realize. One would have to believe his version. Otherwise, of course it wasn't justified.

On the video'd dialog, depends on whether the jury believes her version, or his. I suspect most prospective jurors have heard about her recent issues. On the other hand, they have the very shaky cop on tape in the aftermath. Sadly, ultimately, it's he said she said.

As for other cop shootings of black men that we've seen in the news in the last 2 or 3 years, I think the vast majority of cases were definitely NOT justified. A lot could be avoided just by taking the time to talk and deescalate.

If I was a cop, it wouldn't matter to me whether it was a black, brown, or white person reaching for a gun. I'd be equally scared. (Again assuming that is what happened, which is doubtful to me, after reading the transcript of the video again
https://www.yahoo.com/news/read-transcript-video-taken-during-204906434.html?nhp=1 ).