Wednesday evening, Philando Castile was shot to death by a St. Anthony Police Department cop in the Twin Cities suburb of Falcon Heights, becoming the second black man to die at the hands of Minnesota officers since last November.
As was the case following the death of Jamar Clark in Minneapolis last November 15, Castile’s death sparked large protests, this time during the early morning hours in front of the Governor’s Mansion in St. Paul. During a news conference on Thursday, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton (D) said he believes that if Castile had been white, the 32-year-old longtime St. Paul public schools employee that many are describing as a role model for kids would still be alive.
“Would this had happened if those passengers were white? I don’t think it would’ve,” Dayton said. “So I’m forced to confront, and I think all of us in Minnesota are forced to confront, [that] this kind of racism exists.”
Minnesota Gov. Dayton on #PhilandoCastile: "I don't think this would've happened" if the car's passengers were white https://t.co/2Eq8i8vxtC
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 7, 2016
According to numbers compiled by the Guardian, Castile became the 561st person killed by police in America this year. While more than twice as many whites have been killed as blacks overall, blacks are killed at more than double the rate relative to their population. The only ethnicity more likely to die at the hands of the police is Native Americans.
Gun Activist Says He Warned PD Involved In Philando Castile Shooting About Shady Traffic StopsJustice by CREDIT: facebook About two years ago, Joe Olson was pulled over by a St. Anthony Police Department squad car…thinkprogress.orgCastile was pulled over for an alleged taillight violation. According to NBC, it was far from the first time he’d been detained for an offense of that sort, though his criminal record included nothing more serious than misdemeanor offenses.
NBC: Philando Castile was pulled over 31 times by law enforcement and all of the charges were misdemeanors and none for violent crimes.
— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) July 7, 2016
The traffic charges for Philando Castile went from driving without a muffler and without insurance to driving without a license and speeding
— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) July 7, 2016
Last year, the ACLU released a study that found blacks in Minneapolis are 8.7 times more likely than whites to be arrested for a low-level offense. The phenomenon isn’t unique to that city — from car searches to arrests for pot-related offenses, study after study shows that black people are discriminated against by law enforcement throughout the country.
The officers involved in Clark’s shooting didn’t face criminal charges. Earlier Thursday, Dayton announced he’d spoken with White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough to request that the U.S. Department of Justice begin an immediate independent federal investigation into Castile’s death.