A Madison police officer is weighing in on the shooting death of Philando Castile at the hands of former Minnesota officer Jeronimo Yanez.
A jury found Yanez not guilty in Castile’s death, a case that gained nationwide attention after his girlfriend live streamed the aftermath of his shooting on Facebook.
Madison police Officer Angela Kamoske watched with the rest of the country when it first happened last summer.
“I honestly saw this case as I watched the Facebook live feed, as it was unfolding,” she said. “And it stayed with me. I don’t know how anybody that was watching it, that it can’t stay with you.”
This month, when Kamoske saw recently-released dash cam video of Castile’s shooting, she decided to contact the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
“It was a letter that I needed to write,” she said.
“I think a lot of times, officers don’t think they can speak out about what they see, and if they see that something is troubling to them, too – just like it’s troubling to the community – and they see that there might be another outcome and we need to do better.”
Kamoske’s words came from that unique viewpoint behind her badge.
“I felt like to be a true guardian of this community…we need to take the lead in these really important conversations,” she said. “I didn’t write ot to be divisive. I wrote the letter in hopes of letting people in our communities know that we hear you, we’re members of your communities too, and we can work together to do better.”
You can read Kamoske’s powerful letter here. The letter ends with “This shouldn’t have happened. His life mattered.”
