June 30, 2017 Issue

St. Paul, Minnesota—Supporters of Philando Castile embrace on June 16 after a jury acquitted the police officer who shot and killed him. A school cafeteria worker, Castile was pulled over for a broken taillight last summer, and the officer thought he matched the description of a robbery suspect. A dashboard camera recorded Castile saying he had a gun in the car and was licensed to carry it. The officer instructed him not to reach for it, and Castile tried to assure him he was just going for his ID. The officer fired seven times, and Castile’s girlfriend live-streamed the aftermath on Facebook, sparking further uproar over police shootings of African-Americans.