Four years after a police officer shot and killed Philando Castile, Minnesota public safety officials on Monday announced new guidelines for keeping everyone safe during traffic stops.
An updated driver’s manual now contains instructions for how drivers should interact with law enforcement, including when there’s a gun in the car. The manual also explains what drivers can expect from the officer.
Castile, a licensed gun carrier, told St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez during a traffic stop that he had a firearm in his car. Castile was pulled over July 6, 2016. Seconds later, Yanez shot him. The exchange and its aftermath were captured on video.
The officer testified that he thought Castile was reaching for his gun to kill him. Prosecutors said Castile was going for his wallet. A jury found Yanez not guilty of manslaughter.
SHOW YOUR HANDS
Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington explained the manual updates to reporters Monday, underscoring what he said is the most important addition: “where to put your hands.”
Harrington said all drivers should keep their hands visible, preferably on the steering wheel, throughout a traffic stop, unless an officer gives specific instructions to move them.
“That is the key message for all drivers, white, Black or otherwise, especially if you have a firearm,” he said.
That means a driver should not reach into his or her pocket for a wallet or toward a glove compartment for insurance paperwork without getting clear permission from the officer to do so, Harrington continued.
Next, the driver should tell the officer whether he or she has a firearm in the vehicle, as well as where it’s located.
“Don’t reach around inside your vehicle. Don’t get out of the vehicle,” Harrington said. “What we want you to do is stay in the car, with your hands where we can see them and talk to us. Hands are what kill in this business.”
The manual also details what drivers should expect from officers conducting a traffic stop. It says the officer should identify his or herself to the driver, ask for the driver’s license and insurance, inform the driver of the reason for the stop, and check the validity of the driver’s license.
SHOWING MUTUAL RESPECT
Assistant Commissioner Booker Hodges also emphasized that drivers should expect law enforcement officers to treat them with respect throughout traffic stops, and vice versa.
“The whole idea of this is (to ensure that) everyone goes home from traffic stops,” Hodges said. If we all know what to expect … that is going to be a whole lot better for all of us.”
Castile’s mother, Valerie Castile, pushed for the manual changes. She shared at Monday’s event how painful the last four years have been.
“We are talking about 1,461 days that I have not seen my son, have not touched my son,” she said. “It brings delight that the Department of Public Safety has updated the driver’s manual because this … little bit of information can save lots of lives, because you don’t know what you are going to get when the police walk up to your car.”
The goal is to make expectations around communication clear and ensure that both sides of the stop — driver and officer — are “on the same page,” she said.
The updated manual is just one instance of innumerable laws and policies in need of revision to ensure equal treatment of Black and brown community members, Valerie Castile continued.
The Department of Public Safety informed police training academies throughout the state of the changes, Harrington said. The next step will be to ensure the update also is taught to current officers.
Thanking Valerie Castile for her advocacy, Harrington added that he’s “embarrassed” it’s taken Minnesota so long to make the changes.
"The whole goal of this is everybody goes home after a traffic stop," DPS Assistant Commissioner Booker Hodges said.
The Minnesota Driver’s Manual has been updated to provide specific guidance to motorists with firearms. https://t.co/L5cbV1X6oK pic.twitter.com/EjScmVKpds
— MnDPS_DPS (@MnDPS_DPS) July 6, 2020