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“Please Don’t Tell Me He’s Dead”: Girlfriend Livestreams Aftermath of Police Killing in MN

HeadlineJul 07, 2016

Hundreds of protesters are gathered outside the Minnesota governor’s house in St. Paul, following the fatal police shooting of African-American man Philando Castile during a traffic stop for a broken taillight. The immediate aftermath of the shooting was broadcast live on Facebook by his girlfriend, Lavish Reynolds, who is speaking in the car next to her dying boyfriend as the police officer continues to point the gun into the car. A warning to our TV viewers, the footage is graphic.

Lavish Reynolds: “Stay with me. We got pulled over for a busted taillight in the back. And the police just—he’s covered. They killed my boyfriend. He’s licensed, he’s carried—he’s licensed to carry. He was trying to get out his ID and his wallet out his pocket, and he let the officer know that he was—he had a firearm, and he was reaching for his wallet. And the officer just shot him in his arm.”

Police officer: “Told him not to reach for it! I told him to get his hand off it!”

Lavish Reynolds: “He had—you told him to get his ID, sir, his driver’s license. Please, don’t tell me this, lord. Please, Jesus, don’t tell me that he’s gone. Please, don’t tell me that he’s gone. Please, officer, don’t tell me that you just did this to him. You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir.”

Later, the video shows a police officer ordering Lavish Reynolds out of the car. She is then ordered by multiple officers to walk backwards. She is handcuffed and put in the back of the police car, along with her four-year-old daughter. This is more of the video, as Lavish Reynolds continues to narrate from the back of the police car.

Lavish Reynolds: “Don’t be scared. My daughter just witnessed this. The police just shot him for no apparent reason. [crying]”

Dae’Anna Reynolds: “It’s OK. I’m right here with you.”

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