Sept. 19, 2024

Philando Castile: The Man, The Legacy, The Injustice

Philando Castile: The Man, The Legacy, The Injustice

This is the heartbreaking story of Philando Castile, a beloved school nutrition worker whose life was tragically cut short during a traffic stop in 2016. Philando, known for his kindness and quiet...

Show Notes
Transcript

Philando Castile: The Man, The Legacy, The Injustice

This is the heartbreaking story of Philando Castile, a beloved school nutrition worker whose life was tragically cut short during a traffic stop in 2016. Philando, known for his kindness and quiet generosity, was shot and killed by Officer Jeronimo Yanez, who claimed he feared for his life. The dashcam footage and live-streamed aftermath sparked nationwide outrage. We dive into the bizarre moments of this case, explore the trial that shocked the nation, and reflect on the legacy Philando left behind. It's a story of injustice, heartache, and hope that continues to resonate today.

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On July sixth, twenty sixteen, something tragic and incredibly heartbreaking

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happened in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. News of this terrible ordeal traveled

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like wildfire and eventually brought the whole state. Some would

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even argue the whole country to its knees. It all

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starts with Filando Castile. Filando was thirty two years old

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at the time of this case, originally from Saint Louis, Missouri,

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and had since moved to Robinsdale, where he worked for

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the Saint Paul Public School District. Falando was in nutrition services,

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meaning that he would help monitor and adapt school meals

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and prep to tailor to children's needs. But that wasn't

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all he did. Falando was known to quietly pay for

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students meals at school, doing his best to make sure

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that no child went home hungry at the end of

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the day. And on the evening of July sixth, twenty sixteen,

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he was on his way back from an activity that

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was very in tune with his daily profession. Earlier, he'd

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got his haircut, had dinner with his sister, and then

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he picked up his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, to go to

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do some grocery shopping together with them that evening. In

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the back seat of the car was Diamond's four year

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old daughter. As the evening drew on, Falando caught sight

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of blue lights in his rear view mirror. He pulled

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over to the side of the streets and waited as

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two officers approached the car from behind. On the one side,

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moving towards Diamond was Joseph Causer. On the other, making

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his way to Filando, was Geronimo Jenez. The two officers

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had been friends for a long time and had even

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graduated from the police Academy at Minnesota State University together.

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They now worked the same beat and were unofficially considered

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to be each other's partners. Around nine o'clock that evening,

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another police officer radioed in that he was planning on

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pulling over Filando's car because Falando looked like a suspect

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and a robbery that had occurred in the area a

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few days before. After radioing back and forth, it was

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decided that Geronimo and Joseph would be the ones to

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conduct the traffic stop. Police officers in Saint Paul did

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not wear body cams at the time that Falando was

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pulling his car over to the side of the road,

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But what happened next was captured forever in the dash

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camp of the police cruiser. It would be a forty

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second encounter that would forever shape and change so many lives.

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Geronimo stood talking with Filando through the driver's side window

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and asked for his license and registration. After taking a

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quick passing glance at Filando's license, Geronimo then slipped it

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into the front pocket of his shirt and went on

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to talk to Filando further. It was then, calmly and

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respectfully that Fialando said, quote, Sir, I have to tell

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you that I do have a firearm on me. Falando

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was licensed to carry and own a firearm, and now

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with two police officers staring into his car with his

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girlfriend and a four year old child in there with him,

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Falando thought it best to inform them that he had

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a weapon before there was a misunderstanding. But before Filando

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could even finish his sentence, Geronimo interrupted him. Okay, he

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is recorded as saying, just like the dashcam footage shows

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him reach a hand for the holster of his own gun, Okay,

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don't reach for it, then, don't pull it out In

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mere seconds, Geronimo's composure began quickly changing. I'm not pulling

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it out, Falando responds, and within seconds his statement is

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confirmed by Diamond, who can be heard as saying that

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Falando wasn't reaching for his weapon. Geronimo repeated, raising his voice,

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don't pull it out, as he quickly pulled out his

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own gun with his right hand and reached inside the

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driver's window with his left hand. Diamond screamed no. Geronimo

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removed his left arm from the car and rapidly fired

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seven shots in the direction of Falando. Diamond yelled, you

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just killed my boyfriend. The scene quickly devolved into absolute chaos.

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In between the shots and in the following empty silence,

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Diamond began to scream, yelling at Geronimo that he had

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just killed Falando. Falando can also be heard speaking his

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voice lays with the pained moan, I wasn't reaching for it.

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Reason to Georgia, your break light here out, so you

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don't have one activator active break light, and that's gonna

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be your pasture sign on your third break light which

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is up here on top, and on this one back

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here it's gonna be out. You have your life sense shirts,

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I have firearms, don't reach for them, don't pull it out,

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don't pull it up.

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Don't go who.

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My God.

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Got right? Get the baby? Shot fire and carrying, trunning

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it up, and.

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That Geronimo had fired seven shots at Falando at point

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blank range. Five of those shots hit him, two of

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which pierced his heart. Most likely In a panic and

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for fear of her own daughter's life, Diamond picked up

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her phone and began live streaming the events unfolding around her.

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She captured Fialando slumped over and moaning in the seat

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beside her. In the recording, Geronimo can be heard shouting

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and swearing as Diamond says, you shot four bullets into him, sir,

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he was just getting his license in registration. Then overlapping

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each other, Geronimo can be heard shouting, I told him

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not to reach for it. I told him to get

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his hand open. At the same time Diamond pleads, please

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don't tell me he's dead. Still recording, Diamond is then

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ordered out of the vehicle, where she's forced to the

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ground and handcuffed. She looses her phone in the scuffle

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and continues to film from the ground, but no longer

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shows us exactly who is speaking, but dash cams and

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cameras inside the police cruiser then captured the heartbreaking and

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chilling voice of a child. Diamond's four year old daughter,

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who'd been removed from Filando's vehicle and placed inside the cruiser,

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begs her mother to stay quiet. Mom, please stop cussing

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and screaming, because I don't want you to get shooted.

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Diamond claimed that in the hours following the shooting, she

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was treated like a criminal. Still handcuffed, Diamond was escorted

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back to the police station, where she was questioned throughout

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the night. She wasn't released until five o'clock the next morning.

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She also claimed that in the immediate aftermath of the shooting,

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none of the officers at the scene or the ones

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who flocked thereafter checked to see if Filando was still

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alive because he was. After five direct hits, two of

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which had pierced his heart, Falando was still in the car,

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clinging to life. It was only when first responders arrived

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at the scene that anyone realized that he was still

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alive and breathing. He was rushed to the hospital, but

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by then, unfortunately it was too late. He died about

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twenty minutes later. In less than twenty four hours, his

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story would spread across the country and ignite a feeling

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of anger and betrayal that would not easily be put out.

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In half a day, Diamond's recording would get two point

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five million views, and protesters began to gather at the

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scene of the shooting. Days the people of Saint Paul

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stood together in peaceful protests and vigils, but by July ninth,

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their anger had bubbled over into sour fury. Things turned violent.

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Twenty one officers were injured as protesters through rocks, bottles,

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and maltov cocktails. Law enforcement responded with pepper spray, tear gas,

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and over one hundred two arrests. Highways and entire city

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blocks came to a standstill, But what the people really

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wanted was justice. Geronimo Yanez told his version of the events,

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trying his very best to clear his name and his image.

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He claimed that he had been in fear for his

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own life. His justification for being so was that Falando

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had been abusing Diamond's four year old daughter. I thought

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I was going to die. Transcripts from his interview with

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the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension read, and I thought of

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his If he has the the guts and the audacity

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to smoke marijuana in front of the five year old

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girl and risk her life by giving her second hand smoke,

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than what care does he give about me. Geronimo and

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his lawyers tried to flip the scripts and blamed everything

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on Fialando. The abuse was second hand smoke, but an

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investigation into the incident brought second degree manslaughter charges against Geronimo.

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After five days in court, he was acquitted of all charges.

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He was, however, immediately fired from the police department, but

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only after he received almost forty nine thousand dollars in

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a severance agreement. The entire debacle had been one more

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slap in the face for Filando's family and for Diamond.

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Determined to see some sort of justice done, they filed

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wrongful death lawsuits against the city and won about three

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point eight million dollars. This was little compensation for the

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damage done to all of them that day, especially for

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those that had been in the car in witness the

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shooting first hand. But from it has spouted some good

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that perhaps captures the true essence of Filando Castile. The

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school he'd once worked at set up the Filando Castile

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Memorial Scholarship in his honor, but that was only the beginning.

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After that came the Filando Castile Relief Foundation, a charity

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that tries to address gun violence, but also pays off

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students lunch debts, just like Filando had been doing himself

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in secret. Part of their funding comes directly from the

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Castile family themselves and will continue to do so in

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the future. That is ten Minute Murder for today, brief

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and bingeable true crime. My name is Joe. I'm the host,

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let's read an email. Maybe the shortest email I've ever received.

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This is from Casey n Alberquerque. She says, do you

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have maybe it might not be a sheet. I just

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realized this could be a boy. Casey, do you have

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a favorite quote? And the answer, the short answer is no,

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I don't have a favorite, but I have one it

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kind of is stuck with me for a while that

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I really do like, and I think it fits this

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podcast and it fits this kind of world that we

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live in pretty appropriately. It's you can wipe away someone's tears,

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but not their pain. And that was written by Leonardo

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da Vinci. And that's not the Ninja turtle, that's the

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painter inventor Leonardo. All Right, that is your episode for today.

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Thank you so much for listening to ten Minute Murder.

Philando Castile: The Man, The Legacy, The Injustice

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