The 5th Anniversary Of The Philando Castile Killing ~ VIDEOS

Opinion

USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- Kevin Dixie and I got together on the 5th Anniversary of the Philando Castile killing to talk about some of the lessons that can be learned from the incident and reflect on how the gun community responded to the event at the time.

A couple of months ago, I had the opportunity to visit the “Say Their Names” Memorial in Minneapolis, MN. Philando’s marker is in the front row, third from the left. I hadn’t really thought about the incident in any detail for many years until I stood in front of that marker. It’s an incident that deserves more attention and (overdue) conversation.

If you recall, there were a lot of questions about why the NRA, and other leading gun rights organizations, didn’t get more involved in the case at the time. Certainly, some people pointed to the racial issues. Some people suggested it was because they didn’t want to appear to be “against” law enforcement. Kevin observed that while those issues may have been underlying the lack of support for “Justice for Philando” from the gun community, it was the presence of drugs that allowed the gun community leadership to side-step the situation. He considers the insignificant issue of marijuana (which played no role in the shooting incident itself) was a scapegoat issue. It is certainly true that there is still a strong portion of the gun community that has a traditionally conservative opinion on the legalization of drugs. For all the “FREEDOM!” cries, we all know that there is no unity amongst the 100 Million+ Gun Owners in this country in regard to all individual liberties. The blow-up over our friend Chris Cheng being on the cover of Recoil Magazine was a recent reminder.

We also spent a lot of time talking about Interacting with Law Enforcement while Armed. This is a topic that both he and I have addressed for our students for many years. In fact, I worked with legal experts and experienced police officers to produce extensive training information on the topic through Personal Defense Network. I’ve also worked to improve law enforcement training in the area of dealing with responsibly armed citizens over the last 15 years, as the number of legally armed people in our country has grown astronomically. With this year’s additional Permitless Carry States, I estimate that there are 50 Million Americans than can carry a concealed firearm for personal defense if they want to. Kevin and I have discussed issues of mandatory training in the past.

While neither of us supports mandatory training to privately carry a gun, we believe that law enforcement officers must be well trained in dealing with armed citizens to avoid situations like the Castile killing.

There are lessons to be learned for both police and gun carriers.

We spent a significant amount of time addressing citizen behavior during traffic stops while armed and shared some of our experiences, good and bad when pulled over while armed. We also talked about the reality of how some people might be nervous for different reasons when they are pulled over, even if they are legally and responsibly carrying their firearms.

Both Kevin and I serve on the Board of Second Amendment Organization, are armed defense educators, and have worked in law enforcement. We’ve covered these issues before and have spent decades working to expand and defend gun rights and educate both gun owners and police officers. This week, on the 5th Anniversary of Philando Castile’s death, it seemed important to talk about how this one incident hits on so many topics that are sometimes controversial, but incredibly important to the gun rights community.

If you haven’t seen the video of the Castile shooting itself, or if you don’t recall the details, you can see the important parts in the video above.

Philando Castile Say Their Names Marker
Philando Castile Say Their Names Marker

About Rob Pincus

Rob Pincus has been educating people about defensive shooting and related personal defense topics for over two decades. He is the Executive Director of the Personal Defense Network and the owner of I.C.E. Training Company. He has authored several books, produced over 100 training DVDs, appeared on several TV & Radio shows, and trained military, law enforcement, and armed individuals around the world. His advice focuses on efficiency and practicality based on his own experiences and continuing research of both real-world events and cutting-edge training practices. www.icetraining.us

Rob Pincus Headshot
Rob Pincus Headshot
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Deplorable Bill

This is the kind of thing that puts a bad light on EVERY enforcement person. Although the cop was acquitted, in my view there was no CLEAR reason to pull much less to shoot much less shot 4x.

Deplorable Bill

Wasn’t finished. The man gets pulled over for a brake light being out. The man identified himself and that he was armed. Legal so far. The probability of the man engaging the cop while his girlfriend and a small child within arm’s reach in not completely nil but not over 1%. Did you notice the cop handled his firearm while on the way to the man’s car? Was he clearing the thumb snap? What if he some pre conceived notion? Did you notice the other cop never thought there was any danger? He was surprised his partner drew and fired.… Read more »

Dee

Multiple thumbs up Bill!!!

swmft

the cop should have gone to jail, there was no excuse for this. I worked dea in bad old days I dont trust the cops I know,have seen them do things the least of which is road rage the ones I dont know get sized up like any criminal

Hazcat

Yep, Count on ‘Drama Pincus’ to pick the incident that stirs up resentment, just like trying to blow up the non-incident of LGBT ‘outrage’ in the 2A community.

With friends like Pincus who needs enemies.

Dee

Dude you are a hazard to the United States of America. You are the enemy. I applaud this man for standing up and acting like one as opposed to acting like you…a child!! Do better!!! We need to acknowledge these cases so more people become aware including LEOs. Can’t hide anymore and everyone needs to be honest with each other: owning firearms isn’t a race issue and cops has to stop acting like it is.

Last edited 2 years ago by Dee
Russn8r

Ooooh. Lookie. Dee The Racist Democrat pops up in an interesting place, shilling for Rob Pincus. Sock puppet?

Last edited 2 years ago by Russn8r
Russn8r
Protect Your Six

As a former law enforcement officer I support and agree with the statements made.