Quick thought on the Castile shooting.
As a cop I had to learn how to re-phrase certain questions. For example when I would ask someone where their ID is, instead of answering “it’s in my pocket” or “it’s in the glovebox” they would reach for it wherever it was. Of course then I would be alarmed and say “keep your hands up! I asked you where it was I didn’t ask you to reach for it!”
So I began rephrasing the question like this. “Without reaching for it, just tell me verbally where your ID is.”
The video of the Castile shooting doesn’t show anything prior to the shooting. But we can glean a couple of things from what were said. His girlfriend said he was just reaching for his ID like he was asked. I’d like to know if the officer actually said “Get your ID” or if he said “Where is your ID?”
The officer also said “I told him not to reach for it, I told him to get his hand out!”
Regardless of how exactly the officer phrased his question, if he told Castile not to reach for it and to get his hands up, and Castile didn’t comply with that lawful order, then I can understand why the officer felt threatened.
This one isn’t as cut and dry as some of the others, and this one definitely seems to just be a tragic misunderstanding, but again, I urge you to wait for the facts before rushing to judgement. The officer is innocent until proven guilty and deserves to be treated as such.
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