Police Killed John Thompson's Friend Philando Castile. Now He Is a Lawmaker Fighting Racist Policing
by webdev@democracynow.org (Democracy Now!) from Democracy Now! on (#5GTR6)
We look at the long history of police killings of Black men during traffic stops in Minnesota with state Representative John Thompson, a community activist who was elected last year and has attended protests demanding justice for George Floyd and other victims of police brutality. His friend Philando Castile was killed by police during a 2016 traffic stop in a suburb of St. Paul. We have every right to be angry, we have every right to be mad, and we have every right to use our voices," Thompson says. We have a problem here in this state with policing." Thompson is part of the People of Color and Indigenous Caucus that has called on fellow lawmakers in St. Paul to halt budget negotiations until police accountability laws are passed.