Officer Who Shot Philando Castile Pleads Not Guilty, Because Why Not?

Here’s how I know that cops have no fear that they will be held accountable for shooting black people: because when they’re caught shooting black people, they don’t plead out. They don’t look to make a deal. You can catch these cops red-handed, on video, they don’t care. They want to take their chances at trial. That’s how confident they are that the prosecution will not be able to find 12 people who are willing to convict them.

The latest officer to take a spin on the jury nullification wheel is Jeronimo Yanez. He’s the officer who shot Philando Castile at a traffic stop in Minnesota. The aftermath of that shooting was filmed by Castile’s girlfriend, who was in the car along with her 4-year-old daughter.

Yanez pleaded not guilt to a charge of manslaughter this morning.

Yanez’s defense is the standard “I feared for my life” cop BS. When it comes to shooting black people, we apparently no longer hold cops to any kind of “reasonableness” standard: an entirely unreasonable fear will suffice.

The defense attorneys also argue that Castile was asking for it. I mean sure, from the perspective of the police, ALL black men are asking to be shot to death simply by dint of being black and going outside without shackles on, but Yanez’s lawyers have an interesting spin on this one. From the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Defense attorneys have said that charges against Yanez should be dropped because Castile, who is black, put himself at risk by allegedly consuming marijuana and disobeying police orders.

Yes, because we all know that if there is one drug that makes you a deadly threat to a trained and armed law enforcement officer, it’s pot. I’ve seen docile bros turn into wild killers with enhanced strength and reflexes after just one or two hits from a J.

In a fair world, the “he was high” argument is a ridiculous one for the defense to trot out. Either Yanez knew Castile had been smoking pot, and it makes his “I was in fear for my life” defense sound all the more entirely ridiculous. Or he didn’t know that Castile was high in which case the allegation is irrelevant and offered only to smear the victim. A reasonable jury would punish Yanez for this foolishness.

But in the real world, Yanez won’t be getting a fair jury. He’ll be getting a pro-cop jury. And he’ll probably get off.

Yanez probably did think that a dude driving around with his girlfriend and her daughter was more of a threat to him than a murder charge. And he probably wasn’t wrong. The child might have coughed on him. This jury will probably just get him off.

Officer pleads not guilty in Philando Castile shooting death [Minneapolis Star Tribune]