Abstract

“Stay with me.” These were the first words Diamond Reynolds uttered as she live-streamed video to the social network site Facebook that would eventually be seen by millions. The gruesome ten and a half minutes of footage displayed the bloody aftermath of the traffic stop in which her boyfriend, Philando Castile, had been mortally wounded by a police officer. He lay next to her in the driver’s seat, which appeared onscreen to be the passenger’s seat because the image had been digitally mirrored by software. Reynolds continued with remarkable stoicism as she narrated the circumstances of the shooting. She addressed the officer as “sir” when he interrupted her account of the events, which began with her questioning the fundamental issue of probable cause.