"I Can Keep You Safe."

Lately I have been extremely busy. I run from job to grabbing something to eat to performing at night. Work is busy too, so I find very little time to watch the news or troll Facebook. I actually have really weaned myself off of Facebook since the election. My newsfeed is no longer filled with updates from my friends and family but article after article depicting the world going to "Hell in a Hand basket." I know this sounds really apathetic, and I don't mean to be that way, but I don't want to be bombarded with depression and anxiety. It doesn't mean I don't care. I just can't read all that after a long day that starts at 7AM and ends at Midnight or after. Last night I got on Facebook to see if there were any new pictures from my sister who is in Aruba, and I came across the video of the shooting of Philando Castile that is focusing on his girlfriend and their little girl. First of all, to be totally transparent, and I am ashamed to say this, when the verdict broke, I did not even know who Philando Castile was. That, in itself, I suppose is telling of how commonplace this type of incident has become. When this video came up in my newsfeed, I almost didn't play it, but I did, and I was absolutely heartbroken. A four year old child, let me say that again, A FOUR YEAR OLD CHILD, has just witnessed something that any of us would hope we would never see in a lifetime. A shooting, and not only a shooting, but the shooting of her own father, into a car where she is sitting. After this you can hear her trying to comfort her mother. "I don't want you to get shooted!" "Please stop saying cusses and screaming because I don't want you to get shooted." "I can keep you safe." " I'm scared." It was so sad! First off, let me say, this is not a post about bashing law enforcement. I cannot imagine what it is like to do a job like that every day, not knowing what you will face each time you stop a car or walk into a house responding to a call. I couldn't do it, but you know what? I am not a policeman. I know I would be scared, and I know that that fear would affect my performance on the job. That is why I have not chosen that profession. After I saw the video of the little girl and her mother, I watched the Dashcam video. It depicts the entire incident. This officer is clearly nervous, understandable, every situation can turn on a dime, but Mr. Castile is cooperating. He is speaking in a calm tone. He even tells the officer he has a firearm in the car. He is literally going "by the book" to make sure things don't go wrong. When he tells the officer he has a firearm, that's when everything starts to go wrong. The officer is clearly nervous and begins to yell, and then all of a sudden he draws and just begins shooting into the car at Mr. Castile, not 1 shot but 7 rounds at point blank range. He then stands there with the gun still aimed at Castile. He looks almost frozen with fear. Another officer comes up, and it looks as if he almost has to pry the gun out of his hands. After the shots are fired, the officer does say Code 3 shots fired. Code 3 is requesting Emergency response, lights and siren, from Police. I am not certain whether that also requests EMT's. Later in the video, EMT workers arrive and can be seen performing CPR after the lifeless body is pulled out of the car. The officer also says "Fuck" several times. The way you say "Fuck" when you feel like something went horribly wrong - just my opinion, not fact. It's very hard to watch the situation unfold. This is not a gunfight. We are not busting into a known drug ring's or gang's headquarters. We are on the side of the road at a routine traffic stop. According to the FBI, In 2015, 6 officers were killed in traffic stops. James O. Pasco, the executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, is quoted as saying, "The two most dangerous things that an officer can undertake are responding to a domestic violence complaint and stopping a car." So, yes, I understand the cautious way in which a stop needs to be dealt with, but this officer clearly loses it! Mr. Castile is trapped in the car. He even has his seat belt on. He could not have dodged the bullets if he tried. The officer continues to yell into the car at Mr. Castile, who am sure is bleeding out and no threat. Do I think the officer approached the vehicle with the intent on killing Mr. Castile? No, but his crime was that he panicked, and made a very poor decision, and everything snowballed from there. Do I think Castile should be convicted of 1st degree murder, No, but definitely Manslaughter. No question, and he definitely should not be a policeman in the field any longer, and he should not be allowed to carry a gun. I'm sorry, if you're going to panic or get jumpy in a tense situation, you should not be a policeman!
"I can keep you safe." Can you, sweet little angel? I don't think you can. Unless something is done to stop this, I don't think any of us can.