Philando Castile Thread

[Ooh-Rah]

The state charged him after a grand jury indicted him

As an FYI, the county attorney got spooked by similar cases having a grand jury come back without charges. He made the decision to charge on his own, without a grand-jury.

Here We Go Again – Activist Minnesota Prosecutor Charges Officer Without Grand Jury…

 

[Devildoc]

As an FYI, the county attorney got spooked by similar cases having a grand jury come back without charges. He made the decision to charge on his own, without a grand-jury.

Here We Go Again – Activist Minnesota Prosecutor Charges Officer Without Grand Jury…

Wow. I did not know that (Capt Obvious, me....).

If you are concerned the grand jury would return a no-bill, that should be a clue.

 

[Ooh-Rah]

@Devildoc - It was a big concern from the Black Lives Matter groups up here. The DA was given "hero-status" when he agreed to make the decision without a grand-jury.

 

[Kraut783]

I guess state law is different there.....you have to get an indictment for any felony in Texas. Sure, you can be charged, but it will go to a grand jury eventually.

 

[policemedic]

I guess state law is different there.....you have to get an indictment for any felony in Texas. Sure, you can be charged, but it will go to a grand jury eventually.

Interesting. In PA, grand juries are available but most often charging decisions are made by the police in cooperation with the DA. Grand juries are not frequently used.

 

[Kraut783]

Don't get me wrong....we charge people all the time, file the case, send it to the DA for prosecution, but soon after any felony arrest is made and filed with the DA...a grand jury will see the case and make a determination. It's part of the process and a behind the scenes thing. The grand juries only seem to get all the attention when no arrest is made yet and the DA sends it to them for a determination.

 

[Red Flag 1]

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[policemedic]

I think of the Grand Jury move as a test of two things. One is a test of the evidence in a court room, granted the DC has all the power before the GJ. The other thing that has me wondering is if the DA and the ADAs are a little weak, and they are testing their case at the Grand Jury level.

The other question I have is what role does the mayor and Chief of Police play in all this.

The decision to use a grand jury is the prosecutor's alone. Police have no input, and since the DA is an independent elected official, the mayor should not have any either. That's not to say that politics doesn't enter the picture, but strictly speaking the ball is in the DA's court as to how they want to to proceed. That's speaking for PA, of course. YMMV.

 

[Red Flag 1]

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[Ooh-Rah]

Wow. That didn't take long....

City settles with mom for $3Million

St Anthony Village, MN

Philando Castile family reaches $3M settlement in death

From the article:
Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, later said Castile was reaching for his wallet.

Permit me to fix that for ya....
Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, will now be reaching for mom's wallet.

 

[policemedic]

What a waste of the taxpayer's money. That's 4.5 million between Ferguson and St. Anthony.

 

[Ooh-Rah]

What a waste of the taxpayer's money. That's 4.5 million between Ferguson and St. Anthony.

The article did state that in this particular case, no taxpayer money was spent on the settlement.
The settlement will be paid through the City’s coverage with the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust. No taxpayer monies from the City of St. Anthony Village will be used to fund this settlement

 

[policemedic]

The article did state that in this particular case, no taxpayer money was spent on the settlement.
The settlement will be paid through the City’s coverage with the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust. No taxpayer monies from the City of St. Anthony Village will be used to fund this settlement

That quote is misleading. The taxpayers pay for the coverage. The taxpayers will pay for the inevitable increase in premiums. It's not unusual for a municipality to have an insurer cover their liability exposure, but the taxpayers will still face increased costs.

The problem (and one of the reasons they settled so fast) is that the mayor and others basically admitted liability where none may have existed.

 

[Ooh-Rah]

The problem (and one of the reasons they settled so fast) is that the mayor and others basically admitted liability where none may have existed.

I will certainly concede that. Hell, our Governor did exactly that as soon as the incident happened.

Within hours of the fatal shooting, Dayton forcefully declared that Castile would not have been killed if he were white — a dramatic assertion immediately criticized by law enforcement groups locally and around the country. Dayton doubled down the next day, jeopardizing what has been strong support by police, who backed him early in 2010 during his first run for governor.

How Gov. Mark Dayton got to his big statement on race after Philando Castile was shot

 

[Ooh-Rah]

My question is why the NRA isn't rushing to the defense of Philando? A registered lawfully carrying gun owner is shot after telling the officer he is carrying? Seems like a great time for the NRA and other organizations like them to make a big stink...

As to the presumption of innocence, if it were the same for normal citizens as it is for police we would have a lot less people in jail.

Took em' long enough.

NRA finally weighs in on death of Philando Castile