And that is the problem. As I watch the dash cam video, it is clear to me that Officer Yanez was afraid. However, what is not clear to me is the reason. Why was he so terrified? Was it because Mr. Castile was coming towards him in an aggressive manner? No, Mr. Castile was seated in his car with his seatbelt on. Was it because Mr. Castile was running away while wielding a weapon? No, Mr. Castile never left his car until his bloody lifeless body was pulled from his vehicle. Was he shot because he was wanted for a dangerous crime? No; not only was he not wanted for a dangerous crime, he was not wanted for any crime.
Well, you may say, it was the gun that Mr. Castile lawfully had that made the officer feel threatened. Had he not reached for the gun then the officer would not have been afraid. My guess is that this is the conclusion reached by the jury that acquitted the officer. This conclusion is based on a faulty logic that is ahistorical and ignores at least two critical sets of facts.
First, both Mr. Castile and his girlfriend Diamond Reynolds told the officer that Mr. Castile was not reaching for his gun right before the officer shot into the car SEVEN times. Mr. Castile was trying to comply with the officer’s command for his license and registration. Moreover, if Mr. Castile wanted to harm the officer, he would not have announced that he had a gun in the manner that he did. He would have simply shot the officer. A rational officer in that situation would have known that Mr. Castile did not intend to be threatening, but rather, he was trying to be honest and compliant.
The second critical fact that the jury overlooked, which is the heart of the matter, is that the officer was afraid of Mr. Castile because he was a black man. Period. When this fact is coupled with the fact that Mr. Castile had the audacity to lawfully carry a gun, it only heightened the fear factor. What caused Officer Yanez to be afraid was not what Mr. Castile was carrying, but rather what Officer Yanez was carrying: an irrational fear of black men.
Only such an irrational fear would cause one to shoot into a car SEVEN times with another adult and four year old child in the car. He shot indiscriminately into the car as if he was trying to subdue a wild animal. But in the end there was no animal, there was only his irrational fear and the carnage it left.
What is most troubling about Officer Yanez’s fear is that it is not isolated. He has adapted the norms and social cues from his environment that tell him to be afraid of black people, especially black men. These subtle and sometimes overt pieces of information have been seeping into his conscious and subconscious mind for years. But it has not only affected his mind, but the minds of those in his community. That is why the jury acquitted him. They too saw the video and understood his fear. Although they may have reacted differently, they still believe his fear and actions were reasonable.
This is the problem. As long as jurors continue to identify with the fear of the officer and not the fear of the unarmed or non-threatening black person, then police will continue to be acquitted. Each acquittal is society’s way of sanctioning the idea that blacks are to be feared. Each acquittal affirms white paranoia, and diminishes the humanity of black people. Each acquittal is not only a miscarriage of justice; it is an assault to the fragile stability of this country.
Yes, I think Officer Yanez, as well as other officers who shoot black people, are afraid. But that is not the end of the matter. Until we do deep soul searching to address why that is, then black men will continue to be murdered by police, and juries will continue to acquit.
–Until Next Time–
Palooke
