The Traffic Stop Persuasive Speech

On July 6, 2016, in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, shots fired from Officer Jeronimo Yanez, killing an African American, Philando Castile. Castile, with his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and her four year old daughter in the car, was pulled over for a broken brake light. Within seventy-four seconds Castile was dead. 74 Seconds, a podcast, from producers John Collins and Riham Feshir, on Minnesota Public Radio, consists of twenty-three episodes. The podcast walks viewers through the entire story of the traffic stop incident, from when it happened to the end of the trial. On the third episode, “The Traffic Stop,” viewers hear the entire seventy-four second encounter. The heartbreaking podcast, full of an unbelievable police encounter, includes the dash cam, the microphone recording from Yanez, the narration of the events that took place during the traffic stop from Prosecutor Attorney John Choi, and the Facebook Live from Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond. At the Super USA in Lauderdale, Minnesota, on July 2, 2016, two African

Paul Butler says, “Part of what may have made a difference to the jury was the officer’s very emotional reaction after the shooting. He’s somebody who realizes that he’s made a grievous mistake. It’s certainly an argument for a manslaughter conviction rather than a murder conviction. People who do harm in the heat of the moment still deserve punishment.” (Bosman and Smith 16). The officer was not in the right state of mind to deal with the situation. Instead of handling the situation maturely and professionally like an officer is supposed to, he took the situation completely out of proportion. He shot seven times. One shot just barely missing Diamond’s innocent four-year-old in the back. If he felt that Castile was dangerous, he should have asked him to put his hands up or asked him to get out of the car, rather than freaking out and shooting him seven