Twitter reacts to the Philando Castile verdict: 'This country, my home, is breaking my f**king heart'
"My son loved this city and this city killed my son," Castile's mother Valerie said.
A Minnesota officer who fatally shot Philando Castile during a traffic stop last summer was acquitted of all charges on Friday (16 June). Officer Jeronimo Yanez pulled Castile's car over in Falcon Heights on 6 July, 2016 and shot the black motorist multiple times just seconds after he informed the officer that he was carrying a gun for which he had a permit.
Castile's death sparked widespread outrage and protests, in part because the aftermath of the shooting was live-streamed on Facebook by his girlfriend Diamond Reynolds. The video of his final moments stunned the nation and soon went viral amid the reignited debate over race and violence by law enforcement towards minorities, particularly African-Americans.
After five days of deliberations, the jury found Yanez not guilty of second-degree manslaughter and two counts of intentional discharge of firearm that endangers safety.
Castile's relatives furiously denounced the jury's decision. Outside the courthouse, his mother Valerie Castile said Yanez got away with "murder".
"The system continues to fail black people, and it will continue to fail you all," she said. "My son loved this city and this city killed my son. And the murderer gets away. Are you kidding me right now?"
Following the verdict, Twitter erupted with thousands of people venting their frustration, anger and heartbreak at the latest decision by the judicial system involving fatal killings of blacks by police in the US.
"How long will they kill our brothers while we stand around and look?" actor Wendell Pierce tweeted.
Palestinian-American political activist Linda Sarsour wrote: "Another day, another miscarriage of justice. Another black man's life devalued. We will never forget."
"This country, my home, is breaking my f**king heart," Tony Award-winning actress and singer Anika Noni Rose tweeted.
Rest In Power, #PhilandoCastile. No justice, no peace.
— deray mckesson (@deray) June 16, 2017
From one of the kids that #PhilandoCastile worked with.
— Matt McGorry (@MattMcGorry) June 16, 2017
Devastated. Furious. Determined. #BlackLivesMatter#NoJusticeNoPeace pic.twitter.com/0SBOpy7W8u
I get that pushing a vulnerable person to commit suicide is manslaughter. I'm just confused abt why shooting someone isn't. #PhilandoCastile
— Joy Givens (@joyeilene) June 17, 2017
They literally got the murder on tape and they set the guy free. #PhilandoCastile, the justice system failed you.
— Luisa Haynes (@wokeluisa) June 17, 2017
A system that allows an authority to murder the innocent without consequences, is a system no one can trust. #PhilandoCastile
— Jory Micah (@jorymicah) June 17, 2017
#PhilandoCastile = NC
— Shomari Stone (@shomaristone) June 16, 2017
SandraBland = NC
EricGarner = NC
MikeBrown = NC
TamirRice = NC
FreddieGray = NC
AmadouDiallo = NC
NC = No Conviction
#PhilandoCastile. Black man. Seated in car. Non violent. Cooperative. Shot. Death recorded & streamed. Police acquitted. Deemed reasonable.
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) June 16, 2017
The @NRA weighed in on behalf of George Zimmerman. Why are they silent about #PhilandoCastile, a licensed gun owner? #BlackLivesMatter https://t.co/qK5PkNYeQz
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) June 16, 2017
#PhilandoCastile was shot in cold blood. The world watched it LIVE. What will it take for the justice system to value Black lives?
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) June 16, 2017
Perhaps the most tragic thing about the acquittal of the officer who killed #PhilandoCastile is that no one is surprised.
— Nick Jack Pappas (@Pappiness) June 16, 2017
What did #PhilandoCastile do to be shot to death? In front of his girlfriend and a 4-year-old child?
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) June 16, 2017
Horrifying. In tears. I can't even say be safe & "smart" because #PhilandoCastile was & so many are & still this: https://t.co/enrp27TRM5
— Rosario Dawson (@rosariodawson) June 16, 2017
I cannot stop crying for you, Philando.
— Samira Wiley (@samirawiley) June 16, 2017
My deepest prayers to him, his family, and frankly, for us all.
— Uzo Aduba (@UzoAduba) June 16, 2017
Philando Castile had a permit to legally carry a gun. Philando Castile had a permit to legally carry a gun. Philando Castile had a permi-
— Philip Lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) June 16, 2017
Thinking of the boy I met last year who said Philando Castile was his best friend because he was the nicest person in his school. For shame: https://t.co/hNj27NzIL7
— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) June 16, 2017
They shot Philando Castile on Facebook Live in front of his fiancé and her daughter & even that's not enough for a guilty verdict. I can't.
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) June 16, 2017
And for what? Because Philando followed the law and informed him of his lawfully owned and permitted handgun?
— Copy McPasty, Writer (@KashannKilson) June 16, 2017
Not surprised. Still can't help but hope every time that they'll prove us wrong. They never do. #justiceforphilando
— Dominique (@domoalexa) June 16, 2017
A system cannot fail those it was never meant to protect" W.E.B. Du Bois. My God bless the soul of Philando Castile. U won't be 4gotten! pic.twitter.com/eZLhkJn7OM
— COMMON (@common) June 17, 2017
Philando Castile was murdered and apparently nobody did it.
— Ashley C. Ford (@iSmashFizzle) June 16, 2017
2nd amendment Twitter is very quiet about Philando Castile.
— Aminatou Sow (@aminatou) June 16, 2017
We really are all we got.
A broken tail light isn't a reason to die. My thoughts are with Philando Castile's family tonight. Their loss is our responsibility.
— Tom Perez (@TomPerez) June 17, 2017
"I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired" -Fannie Lou Hamer (1964) #justiceforphilando https://t.co/MqgExc7NVA
— SharcasticWisdom (@skittlesonboard) June 16, 2017
© Copyright IBTimes 2025. All rights reserved.