‘We are being hunted,’ Philando Castile’s mother says

The heartbroken mother of a black man who was fatally shot by a police officer in Minnesota said on Thursday that the recent spate of deaths at the hands of law enforcement officers amounts to a silent war against African-Americans.

“We’re being hunted, every day. It’s a silent war against African-American people as a whole,” Valerie Castile said in an interview on CNN’s “New Day.”

In the emotional interview with Alisyn Camerota, Castile also said she believes police officers still racially profile black people in the United States and that there are few, if any, consequences for taking their lives.

SLIDESHOW – Police fatally shoot Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minn. >>>

Her son, Philando Castile, 32, was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, a suburb of St. Paul, on Wednesday — one day after the high-profile, police-involved shooting death of another black man, Alton Sterling, 37, in Baton Rouge, La.

Philando Castile’s fiancée, Diamond Reynolds, who also goes by Lavish Reynolds, live-streamed the aftermath of the shooting in a Facebook Live video that’s been viewed nearly 3.5 million times. In the video, streamed just moments after the shooting, Reynolds says that the responding officer opened fire when Philando Castile reached for his wallet, after having been asked for his license and registration.

WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS DISTURBING FOOTAGE

Valerie Castile said she has not watched the video because she wants to remember her son as he was when they were last together — and not as he appeared in the violent last moments as he sat dying in his car.

“I appreciate Diamond streaming that video live because we never would’ve known exactly what happened had she not put that out there like that,” she said. “And then for him to blatantly shoot into that vehicle with that child in there and that female. And I know for a fact my son would never jeopardize his fiancée and the child by doing anything to provoke this officer to think that his life was in danger.”

Philando’s uncle, Clarence Castile, however, did watch the video and described it as the most horrific thing he has ever seen in his life.

“I see a young man, helpless, shot for no apparent reason,” he said during the CNN interview. “I saw my nephew, shot by a man, clinging to his life, with no help. It was the most horrific thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

They said the very people who are supposed to protect people in the United States too often become their “judges” and “executioners.”

Valerie Castile said that both her son and daughter were licensed to carry guns but recalled that her daughter was hesitant to do so because she feared, “they’ll shoot me first and ask questions later.”

“My son was a law-abiding citizen, and he did nothing wrong. He had a permit to carry. But with all of that, trying to do the right things and live accordingly by the law, he was killed by the law,” she said. “I’m outraged.”

Minnesota court records show that Philando Castile has a long list of petty misdemeanor traffic charges, but nothing more serious.

He worked as a nutrition services assistant at several schools from November 2002 until August 2014, when he was promoted to nutrition services supervisor at J.J. Hill Montessori School, according to Saint Paul Public Schools.

Valerie Castile described her son as a hard worker who was well liked and laid-back. She also said she’s positive he complied with the officer’s instructions.

“That’s the key thing in order to survive being stopped by the police is to comply,” she said. “Whatever they ask you to do, do it. Don’t say nothing. Just do whatever they want you to do. So what’s the difference in complying and you get killed anyway?”

She said her son had already died by the time she reached Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, where he was taken after the shooting, and that she has not been allowed to see his body.

The video of the shooting sparked widespread outrage and protests. Many African-American parents asked on social media what they should tell their children to avoid deadly confrontations with police officers because their previous guidance was to always be polite and to obey police officers’ commands.

Others accused the pro-gun National Rifle Association of being conspicuously silent regarding Castile’s death.

Hundreds of demonstrators, including Reynolds, gathered outside the Minnesota governor’s residence in St. Paul overnight. Some protesters used police tape from the shooting site to cover the governor’s gate in protest.

There were chants of “No justice, no peace, f*** you police!” and “The whole damn system is guilty as hell. Indict, convict, send those killer cops to jail!”

Outside the mansion Thursday morning, Reynolds told reporters that Gov. Mark Dayton should take steps to ensure that there is a process for identifying police officers who may suffer from mental problems (implying that the police officer involved in the shooting might be unstable), and that he should protect the rights of licensed gun owners so these tragedies don’t happen.

“He was never a bad man. He never did anything to hurt anyone,” Reynolds said of her fiancé. “He was the quietest, most laid-back person you would ever meet. He was loving. And so even for the police to take him away, nothing within his body language said intimidation. Nothing within his body said, ‘Shoot me.’”

Later Thursday morning, Dayton released a statement extending his condolences to the family and friends of Philando Castile and vowing to protect the integrity of that investigation.

“This morning, I spoke by phone with White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough to request that the U.S. Department of Justice begin an immediate independent federal investigation into this matter,” the statement reads. “Overnight, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension began an independent investigation at the state level. They are currently collecting all necessary evidence, and interviewing witnesses, to determine what happened, and to assure that justice in this case is served.”

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said President Obama is “deeply disturbed” by reports of the shootings in Baton Rouge and Falcon Heights and is following both closely. He said they cannot comment on specifics at the moment because the incidents are still under investigation.

This is at least the second time in less than a year that a young black man was shot and killed by police in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Two Minneapolis police officers were involved in the fatal shooting of Jamar Clark, 24, in November 2015. No charges were filed against either officer.