On Wednesday, July 8th, 2016 in Falcon Heights, MN, a regular police stop for a broken tail light turned deadly. Philando Castile was driving while his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, was in the passenger seat and Reynolds' four-year old daughter in the back. According to Reynolds, Castile notified the officer that he was armed and that he had a concealed carry permit. When Castile reached for his wallet to show his ID, that Reynolds said officer Jeronimo Yanez asked for, the officer fatally shot him multiple times in the arm. The story is heart breaking itself when you hear about it, but what's even more gut wrenching is seeing the scene play out live.
Only a few short months ago, Facebook first launched its most recent feature "Facebook live". The newest addition to the platform allows users to stream live video of an event in real time. Of course, in the first couple months we all saw live videos of cute puppies and babies, but it was only a matter of time for Facebook live to display a much more gruesome scene. Unfortunately, it was at the expense of Philando Castile's life.
Following the shooting, Diamond Reynolds logged into Facebook and started live streaming. The video switches between Reynolds face and Philando's nearly lifeless body. As he's gasping for breath, the police officer still has his firearm pointed in the vehicle. As Reynolds verbally tells the story of what happened you can hear the officer repeatedly shouting the F-word in the background. The officer tells Reynolds to keep her arms up to which Reynolds replies, "I will sir, no worries, I will". As the video continues, Reynolds is asked to step out of the vehicle. In the original video, Reynolds drops her phone and as the screen goes black you can hear her pleading with God that her boyfriend is still alive. Some dialogue ensues between the officers and Reynolds before she is put in the back of the squad car. Although Reynolds has remained calm and compliant throughout the entire situation, the realization finally hits her that her boyfriend might be dead. Reynolds screams in agony, and in the most heart breaking way, her little girl tries to calm her down saying, "It's okay, Mommy" and "It's okay, I'm right here with you."
This video is the first Facebook live video of its kind and it is ground breaking. First of all, the video is completely raw. Watching it, you have to remind yourself that you aren't tuning into an episode of Criminal Minds. This isn't television, it is real life and it has real-life implications. Live streaming closes the gap between filming time and uploading time because both are happening simultaneously. As a result, the viewer is never left to question if the video was edited. Police action and civilian action that happens in the video is indisputable because a live video puts the viewer at the scene. Since it is happening live, people are able to act more quickly than if it were uploaded later. In the Philando Castile case, civilians were already at the scene before the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigation was complete. Live streaming technology puts power back into civilian hands and helps to hold police accountable for their actions.
Live streaming has been introduced or built around other apps, but nothing as widespread as Facebook. Since live streaming is now available on such a global and popular platform, acts like these are much more unlikely to be swept under the rug. Since millions of people across the world have seen the video, it's much more difficult to forget about it. As horrific as an incident like this is, it may be the very thing that drives justice for black individuals. I pray that events like this end, but at this time in our nation, I believe I'm being too wishful. I pray with more of my being that the next time something like this happens, that that individual utilizes live streaming technology to broadcast their injustices to a global audience. So that in the future, these injustices cease to exist.
My prayers and condolences go out to the family and friends of Philando Castile.
